Making Allies Out of Enemies
by nekochan014
Summary: The Warden-Commander, Elisa Cousland, has a tendency to recruit the least likely people as her allies. The story will start in Awakennig. Slightly AU. A light Anders/F!Cousland and more of a Nathaniel/F!Cousland/Loghain. Also mentions of an Alistair/F!Cousland
1. Chapter 1

Elisa Cousland, known by the people as the Hero of Ferelden, now stood impatiently just outside the throne room of the royal palace in Denerim. She glanced down at her mabari, Caena, who lay on the floor, almost bored to death. The dog glanced up to its master as it rolled over to its back, its muscled legs stuck up in the air as its eyes begged her for a light tummy rub. And the lady could not resist such a plea. With a leather boot, she affectionately nudged her hound along its ribs while her mind pondered why she was urgently called here.

It was a surprise to her actually when a courier was waiting for her just as she crossed the borders from the west; more so, when it was His Majesty, King Alistair, who sent the urgent summon.

_Though, if it was so urgent, he wouldn't be making me wait now, would he?_ She scowled as her sapphire eyes glanced towards the large oak door, wondering what's keeping the king so long. _Petty grievance from the nobles perhaps? _She mused nonchalantly, somewhat accustomed to the scene. It was similar back at the castle in Highever before...

She grimaced as the thought of her entire family's death crossed her mind. Not wanting to dwell on it, she shook her head. It was better to use the time instead thinking on how to avoid the awkwardness while conversing with his Majesty..

The two of them had drifted apart after that... disagreement, to put it lightly, during the Landsmeet. She still cringed every time she was reminded of the words he spoke so vehemently.

_"Fine! You want Loghain in the Grey Wardens so badly? Then I'll be leaving the Wardens to marry Anora!"_

The anger in his eyes that time made her heart ache. It was the worst way to end what they had. Nonetheless, she forced herself to endure it - for the sake of Ferelden. Whatever her feelings were, they should be set aside.

Necessity, she supposed, was subjective, and Alistair that time found his revenge more necessary than gaining a general in their ranks – not that she didn't understand his feelings. She did, more than he thinks. Yet, on her part, Arl Howe's death was necessary. Either he released the Queen or she forces him to. _He never really gave me much choice_, she told herself. In the dark corners of her consciousness, however, she reveled sinking her blade down that traitorous bastard's gut.

Her train of thoughts was halted when the chamberlain approached her and stated, "His Majesty is ready to see you." She took a deep breath and moved her foot away from Caena who made a noise of protest but rolled back over before it stood. Steeling herself, she followed the man inside the throne room.

At the far end of the large room was a chair where Alistair sat with his eyes meeting hers. His gaze at first look surprised, as though he did not recognized her immediately. Either that was due to her cutting her once waist-length wavy auburn hair up above her shoulders, or just because the last time he saw her was during the celebration after ending the Blight which was, more or less, six months ago.

"Your Majesty," she greeted formally as she gave a respectful bow fit for a king. She waited for some sardonic remark about what she thought that he might find a form of mockery, but when nothing came out, she straightened herself up with the assumption that he took no offense to it.

"Warden-Commander," Alistair greeted her in a similar formal manner with his expression remaining blank and holding back his bitterness and hatred.

_At least he's putting some effort into being civil. _"I expected Anora to meet me instead when it comes to, well, any matters that involved me," she stated in a curious tone as her eyes glanced around the room as though the Queen would pop out of nowhere.

"Yes, well, unfortunately for the both of us, she is needed in the Bannorn," he drawled as he rested his chin with his palm, "so I was told to wait for your arrival from Weisshaupt to inform you that the Orlesian Wardens had arrived three weeks ago."

She only gave a silent nod, deciding to avoid arguments by saying something offensive. Her bluntness at times gets her into trouble. And trouble with Alistair takes hours.

"Also, there had been reports of large groups of darkspawn terrorizing the countryside," he added and she merely nodded again, though she could not contain her slight frown as she pondered why the darkspawn hadn't returned to the Deep Roads.

"Is there anything else Your Highness?" she asked.

"Elisa." His expression was scorned as he spoke her name. He opened his mouth to add something else, but paused and just watched her intently. Whatever he was about to say, however, he decided to keep it to himself. Shaking his head, he leaned back to his chair and ended it with, "that is all. You may leave."

Elisa gazed at him silently for a moment as though she was hoping for him to add something... She mentally shook her head and reminded herself that they had ended their relationship months ago, and not to mention that he was already married to Anora. Whatever fairy-tale fantasies she might have should be thrown out of the window. Giving a low bow, she left the throne room with Caena, and briskly made her way to the Warden Compound.

When she arrived just outside the compound, she was greeted by the form of a man wearing a familiar Chevalier armor and was just about to exit the gate. He paused from his footsteps as his icy blue eyes stared at her face intently. _Maker! What is it with the staring!? Do I have something on my face!?_ "Loghain," she greeted, snapping him out from his thoughts, "I thought you were looking for new recruits in Redcliffe."

"I was," he replied before he bent down when the mabari hurried over to him. He patted the top of its head as he added, "I just arrived a while ago. I even saw you enter the palace on my way here." After sating the dog's need for a bit of attention, he stood up then asked, "so, what did Maric's bastard want from you?"

Her brows furrowed as she placed her hands on her hips. "What makes you think that Alistair was the one who summoned me?"

He crossed his arms and replied, "because I saw my daughter and her guards heading to the Bannorn while I was on my way to Denerim." His eyes narrowed as he glared at her sharply. "So are you going to continue evading my question, or are you going to tell me what His Majesty had said that seemed to bother you greatly?"

_What he didn't tell me, more like_, she thought with a slight frown. While Loghain's ability to see right through a person's facade proved useful, it still irked her at times when he's able to read her feelings like an open book. However, being a stubborn woman, she was not going to spill any of it to him.

In hopes that he would abandon the previous subject, she started, "Loghain." Her hand gestured towards the compund and once he turned and began to walk back inside, she strode beside him with Caena following behind. "Can I ask you a favor?"

His brow arched up as his head turned to look at her. "What is it? I doubt you can ask anything worse than bedding the Marsh Witch."

"Could you... entertain a group of Orlesian Wardens?" She grinned slightly at the quick response of his deep frown.

_And here, she proves me wrong again._ "You jest," he stated dryly. He knew she was. Or at least, he hoped she was. He had tried his hardest to avoid meeting them. If he did not return to the compound here in Denerim, he would stay at Soldier's Peak. The merchants did not bother him, nor the blood mage. _I'd sooner throw myself back to the Archdemon than mingle with any of those Orlesian dogs!_

"Partly," she replied, eliciting a questioning though still cautious look from the older comrade, "I had hoped, since you are here now, that you could perhaps accompany me to Amaranthine? Just for a few days." She could sense his reluctance so, once they arrived outside the storage room, she added, "you've dealt with more Orlesians than I have..."

Loghain snorted as he took out his key to open the door. "If you mean running them through with my blade, then yes, i have 'dealt' with the Orlesians."

Elisa entered the room and made her way to the shelves. "Good, because that's what i need."

He blinked a few times as he stared at her while she read the labels on the vials of poisons. "So what do want me to do then," he asked with a deadpanned look, "strategize a plan on how we will assassinate them one by one while they slumber? Would you like me to come up with twenty ways to poison their meals?"

It was her turn to snort. She turned her attention from the crates of poultices to him. "Doubt any plans would work; not unless you change into a less clunky armor. Also, I doubt there's a poison that could top off darkspawn blood." She returned to setting aside the poultices she might need. "I should rephrase my statement." She paused for a moment, considering the words to use. "If these were Wardens from Ferelden, it might be easier to... lead them. But these foreigners..."

He cocked an eyebrow. "You've commanded an entire army, and now you're worried about insubordination from the Orlesian Wardens?" Though the possibility lingered on his mind. After all, they are still Orlesians who would sooner die than take orders from what they might consider as a backwater wench.

"Wary of mutiny more like," she replied, "these are Wardens, not ordinary Chevaliers after all. Four or five men of theirs could kill me easily. This could lead to another war with Orlais, and the latter could use this as an excuse to reclaim Ferelden, which they could do so easily with our nation's current condition."

"And here I thought I was the paranoid one," Loghain muttered.

She gave a lopsided grin. "I guess your paranoia had just rubbed on me." His expression told her that he wasn't convinced of the excuse she gave for the sudden change of opinion about Orlais. So, once she set aside the supplies she would bring, she had him follow her towards another room where they kept documents and such.

"Before heading to Denerim for the Landsmeet," she explained as she approached a desk and opened one of its drawers, "we returned to Ostagar to recover that blade." She pointed as his sheathed sword that he knew well once belonged to Maric. Returning her attention back to the parchments inside the drawers, she added, "we also found these." She took out two parchments and handed them over to him.

Loghain read the letters and tossed it on the desk before his urge to rip them to shreds overcome him. He clenched his fists tightly as his entire body shook, almost near to exploding from fury. "That cheating bastard!" He couldn't restrain his mouth from the series of curses he let out. His suspicions were right, though he never considered that it was Orlais' Empress he was having an affair with. If he did, not even his daughter could have stopped him from personally hanging the boy.

Elisa remained silent for a moment as she gathered the letters and placed them back inside the drawers. "What they could not claim in war, they planned through marriage. But with Cailan dead and the throne secured, they might try other means." She waited for him to calm down before she continued, "Wardens generally serve no nation, and suspicions of possible involvement are still baseless, but entering the Keep without precautions and with that possibility still looming over our heads is foolhardy." She approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I want you to assess whether they could be trusted."

"You already know my assessment about their lot Commander," Loghain replied, willing his rage to subside, though proving difficult with the thought of his good-for-nothing son-in-law ready to divorce Anora over Orlais' reigning bitch just so he could strut around as an Emperor.

She scowled. "Killing them without basis will just send Ferelden to war with Orlais. Plus, if they're not involved, then we just wasted some good resources."

"Now you're sounding like the Qunari," he commented.

"Something you should be thankful for," she responded, "otherwise, you'd be a dead body now, and people will remember you for your crimes rather than as a hero."

"I'm just concerned about your method of choosing your allies." Letting out a heavy sigh, he asked, "so, when do we leave?"

She strode towards the door and replied, "immediately" before she returned to the storage room to pick up the things she set aside.

End of Chapter 1

**A/N: So, um, hey everyone! So, after seeing the Inquisition gameplay, Dragon Age has been bothering my thoughts. I needed to get it out of my system so I thought of writing a , this is slightly AU. For one thing, Mhairi's not here. Other events might be slightly different but I will still follow the story.**

**Oh, also, Bioware owns the Dragon Age series.**


	2. Chapter 2

The journey to Vigil's Keep was peaceful for the most part. There were the occasional groups of bandits preying on travelers but they were nothing Elisa, Loghain and Caena couldn't handle. Some would recognize the Hero of Ferelden and scurry away, while others were foolhardy enough to try.

The path they used to get there made her reminisce of the old days where she and her family would come here to visit Rendon Howe's family. Arriving at the Keep, she would be the first one out, searching for Delilah, or if not, pester her older brother to give her archery lessons. She was fond of that boy and his stoic demeanor, and for a time, she had a crush on him. Ah, but such childish feelings had long passed. _There were no news about him after he left for the Free Marches_, she mused and unconsciously mumbled, "dead probably."

"Who is?" Loghain asked as he moved his horse beside hers.

"No one," she replied instantly, bolting out of her thoughts. She avoided his gaze as she waited for another question but when she look back at him, his horse stopped. "Something wrong?" She asked and saw him hold up a hand.

He glanced around the vicinity. "Do you hear that?"

She listened to the still surrounding. The silence made her wary. Her hound must have sensed the eerie aura as it bare its teeth and began growling. Then, that faint but familiar sensation began to tingle. She and Loghain quickly glanced towards the direction of the Vigil where several men pursued by three darkspawns were running towards them.

Quickly getting off his horse, Loghain charged towards a hurlock, knocking it down with his shield before plunging his sword through its chest. Three genlocks lunged their corrupted blades towards him, but before they manage to get a foot near him, Caena tackled one down and viciously attacked it, while arrows struck the other two darkspawn's heads. He glanced towards Elisa who had her bow drawn while still mounted on her horse.

One of the fleeing men approached, great relief etched on his face. "It's you! The Hero of Ferelden! Oh thank the Maker."

She got herself off the horse before interrogating him. "What happened here? The other Wardens, where are they?"

"I-I don't know," the man replied and looked towards the Keep, "they came out of nowhere and attacked the Keep before the other Wardens could sense them."

_An ambush!? And the Wardens didn't sense them!?_Elisa scowled before ordering the group, "get yourselves to safety."

They all nodded before running away from the Keep. Loghain approached his commander, his brows furrowing. "The Archdemon is dead. Darkspawns should be returning back underground, not organizing an ambush."

"Something must be leading them," she muttered, though idea sounded so impossible to her as well. With her bow at the ready, she marched towards the Keep.

Arriving outside the fortress, they made short work of the darkspawns they encountered. Caena protected her master from stray darkspwans that moved past Loghain. Elisa felt fortunate that she took poisons from the compound as it proved useful when she shot a magebane-coated arrow towards an emissary before Loghain sliced its head off the body.

As they rushed up the stairs and entered the only accessible room, they were greeted by a blonde mage burning a staggering hurlock before it collapsed. He shook the residual heat from his fingers as he turned around to leave but stopped when he saw that he wasn't alone.

For a moment he glanced down at the corpses which included the templars who captured him, then to the auburn-haired woman eyeing him suspiciously. "Uh... I didn't do it." He grinned nervously, turning his gaze back at the corpses after he met Loghain's scrutinizing gaze. "Well, I didn't kill the templars to be exact."

Seeing that it wasn't a darkspawn, Elisa relaxed a bit before she approached the dead bodies while Loghain kept a defensive posture. "Oh don't get me wrong. I'm terribly broken up about them dying, but Biff there made the funniest gurgle when he went down," the mage added as he watched her examine the templars' corpses while muttering something 'dealing with the Chantry later'.

"Not fond of them I take it?" It took Elisa some effort to remain stoic as her lips threatened to curl up at the name the blonde gave to the templar.

"I know, I know. Most people enjoy a kick in the head to be woken up each morning... Me, I'm just too picky." He shifted his attention towards Loghain who he thought was ready to run him through if made any sudden move. "Uh... He's not a templar, is he?"

Loghain snorted at the presumption. "Am I wearing a skirt, mage?"

"Just making sure… can never be too careful right?" The mage grinned then looked back to Elisa as she stood up and now her eyes were focused on the door as though she could see something through it. Her head turned back to the mage when he stated, "oh where are my manners. You may call me Anders, my dear lady. I am a mage — as you can see — and sadly a wanted apostate."

"Are you good with healing spells?" Her question caught him off guard for a moment before he recovered and flashed a wide grin.

"My specialty actually," he replied as moved closer to her, not caring if his foot was stepping on the dead templar's face, "do you need any healing, my lady?"

"Good." Ignoring his attempts to flirt, she turned to Loghain. "Three darkspawns on the other side." Or at least, that's what she thought she was sensing. There was something off about it, but she wasn't sure what. Well, whatever it was, she should not show it. She's the commander after all, and thus have no room for uncertainties.

Loghain went ahead with the mabari as Elisa looked back at Anders. "We might encounter wounded survivors. You may go if you wish but your help will be very much appreciated."

Anders drummed his fingers against his arm while he considered his options. When Elisa had turned around and was heading towards the other room, he finally made a decision. "Okay. I can't resist a lovely woman makes a request." He was certain that, for a moment, he saw the lady smile a bit as she muttered a simple 'thank you' before making her way to the other room to help her comrade.

It turned out that Elisa was right. In corner of the next room, there was an injured cowering servant surrounded by corpses of darkspawns and other servants. Anders approached her and tended to her wounds before she ran off to get safety. He glanced up to the Commander of the Grey as she paced back and forth near the door.

"Can't sense any Warden," she muttered as her frown deepened. She stopped and turned her head towards Loghain who shook his head. "Darkspawns but no Wardens." She was about to open the door leading to the ramparts but Loghain grabbed her shoulder and looked at her intently. "There's something... different about them."

_So it wasn't just me after all. _She gave him a nod. "I know, but we must press on." As his hand loosened its grip, she continued making her way to the ramparts with her dog and two men close by.

To her frustration, there were not only more than what she had sensed but also the darkspawns they now encountered had an emissary and a hurlock alpha. Muttering a curse, she stepped back and allowed Caena and Loghain to charge towards their enemies while Anders casted protection spells on them. She first aimed at the emissary before it could complete its task of casting a fireball. However, this resulted to gaining the full attention of the Alpha who ran past Loghain and the mabari who were still preoccupied by the other darkspawns.

"Commander!" Loghain shouted after he plunged its blade deep within the Genlock's gut.

Elisa gritted her teeth as she reached for her daggers, waiting for the opportunity to strike, but suddenly the Alpha was frozen on the spot. She quickly glanced towards Anders who had just finished casting his next spell which sent a large hurling rock towards the frozen darkspawn, shattering it into pieces.

She stared at where the Hurlock Alpha once stood, her mouth slightly gaping. "Andraste's flaming knickers," she muttered before turning her full attention back to the blonde mage.

"Not to brag, but yes, I am quite talented." He grinned which widened a more when she added, unable to mask her astonishment, "you... you keep doing that."

He stood straight and saluted. "Aye, aye, fearless leader!"

After getting through groups of darkspawns, they ran towards the room where loud clashing of steels could be heard. Neither Elisa nor Loghain could sense if there were any Wardens inside but both hoped for one as they charged in.

What they found inside were a swarm of darkspawn surrounding a red-haired dwarf who whirled around with his battleaxe, causing serious injuries on the Hurlocks' bellies and decapitating some of the Genlocks' heads. He noticed their group, he gave a quick wave before returning to slaughtering the remaining darkspawns.

Elisa couldn't stop her lips from curling up a bit at seeing a familiar comrade. Still, walking down memory lane should be saved for later.

Once they dealt with the rest of the darkspawns in that room, the dwarf, with a large grin, leaned forward on the balcony. "When these darkspawns showed up, i told them, just you wait 'til the new commander gets here and you'll all be spitting teeth out of your arses!"

This time, Elisa did not hold back her smile as the mage beside her laughed at the last statement. "Odd place for you to show up, Oghren," she stated, her shoulders relaxing a bit.

"I've been here for two weeks now... thought to try my hand at becoming a bona fide Grey Warden." Oghren pulled out his flask and drank some ale before offering it to the group. Loghain scowled, reminded by its dreadful taste. _Maker, that ale tasted like piss! _And the thought that probably might be made his stomach churn.

"Perhaps... later," Elisa declined with a raised hand as she mentally added, _if I'm dying from dehydration and there's nothing else to drink._

Oghren shifted his gaze to Loghain. "Huh, he's still alive?"

"What if I am dwarf?' Loghain scowled as he glared at him sharply.

Sensing the hostility, Elisa cut in with a firm statement. "Loghain is a Grey Warden now. Nothing can and will change that."

The dwarf grumbled something either dwarven or incoherent. "Fine, fine. Just warning you, he might go all Zevran on you." He then raised his battleaxe. "Now let's introduce some darkspawn arses to my foot."

Oghren and Anders went ahead while Elisa, with her hound walked behind them. Loghain walked beside her and voiced out his protest through a murmur. "You're not considering on making the dwarf a Warden are you?"

Elisa looked at him with a raised brow. "Why not? You've seen him in battle, he's a skilled warrior. Plus, if the Orlesian Wardens are truly dead, then we need all the Wardens we can recruit."

He opened his mouth to argue but was interrupted when Anders called out from the narrow hallway. The two Wardens rushed over and saw an injured soldier on the floor. His half-lidded eyes looked before he gasped out. "Commander..."

Anders who was kneeling beside the man did all he could to heal him but all efforts were futile. "He's beyond healing magic," he stated and offered, "maybe a shot of whiskey for the pain?"

Elisa glared at Anders before she sat to the other side of the soldier who struggled to explain. "We only had... a moment's warning before they were on us... They came out of nowhere... One of them... A darkspawn who talks."

Oghren shook his head. "A talking darkspawn? The lad must be delirious."

"Took the s-seneschal up-argh!" The man hissed in agony. "There's something in my blood!"

_The Taint..._Elisa could sense it in him. She looked over to Loghain knowing that he could sense it as well. When he gave small nod, her head turned back to the injured man. "What is your name soldier?"

He struggled to reply. "R-rowland... Commander..."

She slowly took out her dagger. "You have served well Ser Rowland."

Rowland knew what was coming next, and welcomed it with open arms. Smiling softly, he closed his eyes and muttered, "it was an honor to have met you." And with that, she gave him the quick and merciful death he deserved.

She sat there of a moment and offered some prayers for the dead. As she stood up, her demeanor suddenly shifted from cool-headed into something vicious. Marching towards the next room, the Warden-Commander took the offensive, this time shooting her arrow to first darkspawn she saw. Her other companions quickly caught up, making quick work in killing the darkspawns. Though, when she did not find it quick enough, she took one of the fallen Hurlock's blade and beheaded the remaining enemies herself.

Loghain was taken aback, not because of his Commander's sudden irritable mood but more so because this was the first time he saw her wield a sword. _And she wielded it well_, he mentally admitted. However, he had no time to question her about the matter since she was already charging up the stairs leading to the rampart. He and others quickly followed.

Up in the ramparts were four darkspawns, but Elisa didn't care. She shot two arrows coated with crow poisons at the two approaching minions, stunning them long enough for the others to deal with them easily. Making her way towards the two darkspawns, she only stopped when she noticed a man in heavy armor held by a Hurlock while having its sword close to his throat. The other was, as what the soldier described, was capable of speech as it now spoke to their captive.

The talking darkspawn turned around to face them and spoke something. Whatever it was saying did not matter to her as her eyes watched intently the man they held hostage. Raising her bow up, she pulled the string and pointed towards the speaking darkspawn who drew his sword out while the other darkspawn held its blade even closer to its hostage as threat to the Commander in case she decided to kill their leader. However, instead of attacking, she suddenly called out, "Anders!"

Anders, taking her shout as a sign or this is what he guessed she wanted, quickly casted a spell that froze the Hurlock that held the hostage. This caught the talking darkspawn off guard as it glanced towards its minion for a second — just enough for Elisa to stab it with a dagger on its shoulder. It hissed at the pain and swung its sword towards her out of fury. She was able to evade its fatal attack, luckily, though it still wounded her in the abdomen. Caena, with the other two warriors, lunged towards the Commander's attacker, the hound biting on the darkspawn's leg while Loghain knocked it down with his shield before Oghren's large axe fell on its head like a guillotine during an execution.

Anders rushed towards Elisa and hurriedly casted a healing spell. She gasped as a blue aura began to envelop her entire body and her wound began to close. "The hostage..." She muttered as she tried standing up but stopped and winced at the sharp pain in her stomach. Anders caught her just in time before she stumbled back on the floor.

"I'm all right Commander," the hostage replied as he went over to them and helped the mage by having her arm slung around his shoulders for support, "and thank you for saving me. I owe you my life."

Loghain beheaded the frozen darkspawn before the ice fully melted. He then stomped towards her, his brows furrowed as he shouted, "what were you thinking!? You could have gotten yourself killed!"

Deadpanned eye stared at him. "I suppose it could have, but as you can see, I'm not dead."

He sighed heavily. _At least she's back to normal_, he thought, _if one calls cold and indifferent normal_. He took her other arm and supported her while Anders healed the hostage's injuries. Once his injuries were tended to, he stood up and looked towards the road.

"Soldiers," he muttered, "hopefully they're not as hostile as their previous guest."

End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

Before heading down with some of Elisa's companions, the hostage introduced himself as Varel, the seneschal of Vigil's Keep. When she glanced towards the soldiers and saw the Royal Banner, Elisa stiffened slightly. The last thing she needed after a fight with Maker-know-what kind of darkspawn was a confrontation with the King; especially with Loghain here as well. The latter noticed her body tensed commented with a smirk. "It seems you can't wait to see His Majesty."

She glared at him sharply. "Shut up." Moving her arm from his shoulders, she tried to stand upright just as the pain had gradually decreased compared to earlier. He voiced out his protest on her ability to walk alone now, but she held up a hand to silence him before she stood straight to show her condition. As they made their way back down to join the others, she noticed that it was not Alistair but Anora that had been accompanied by both soldiers and templars. The latter did not seem too pleased the blonde mage though as he fidgeted a bit from where he stood.

"It seems we've arrived too late to be of assistance." Anora glanced towards her father who stood behind the Warden-Commander. "My apologies." She looked back at Elisa now standing up, before she asked, "what's the situation?"

Varel stepped forward and answered, "what darkspawn remained had fled, Your Majesty. The Grey Wardens who arrived from Orlais appeared to be either dead or missing."

Anora looked surprised by his last word. "Missing? As in taken by the darkspawn?" She shifted her gaze back to the Commander. "Do they take prisoners?"

Elisa held back a disgusted look at the sudden reminder of the Broodmothers. "Not unless they're women..." She glanced towards the seneschal, and he shook his head as he replied, "a few, but most are men, Commander."

"Unfortunate..." Anora sighed then stated, "I will offer what aid I can, but it seems you will be largely on your own."

That's when Oghren made his presence known. "Hey! What am I? Chopped nug livers?"

Anders quipped. "From the smell that's not a bad guess."

"I came here to join the Grey Wardens and from the looks of it, you need an extra hand!" The dwarf grinned.

"I see no reason to decline," Elisa stated. She side-glanced towards Loghain and asked, "do you?"

"The smell for starters," he grumbled low enough for only his Commander to hear. Her lips twitched up slightly before telling Oghren, "you're welcome amongst the Wardens."

A woman wearing a templar armor pushed her way through the crowd and bellowed, "Queen Anora, Your Majesty! Warden-Commander! Beware! This man is a dangerous criminal!"

"Well, the dwarf might have made a few... vulgar demonstrations in public but I wouldn't call him-" Elisa explained but Anders interrupted. "She means me..."

The templar began berating something about bringing the mage back to the Circle to face justice. Elisa was only half-listening with a passive expression on her face as her mind considered whether to face the Chantry's wrath later on by recruiting a wanted highly-skilled healer, or allowing the templars to take the mage and do some boot-licking to the Grand Cleric and offer huge monetary donation to the Chantry just so they would allow him to join their ranks. The former sounded very appealling to her, especially when she heard the templar say something about hanging the murderer.

"Wait, I invoke The Right of Conscription on this mage," she stated, stunning everyone who heard her sudden random statement. However, the templar quickly recovered from the shock and began her protests.

"This man helped with not only dealing with the darkspawns but also healing the injured survivors we found inside the Keep. The Wardens will benefit greatly if we have him in our ranks." Elisa looked at the templar sternly as the latter glared back.

"Rylock," Anora interrupted their glaring competition. "I believe the Wardens still retain the Right of Conscription. I will allow it."

Rylock scowled but reluctantly agreed. "If... you think it is best..." She turned around to leave, and Elisa had to hold back a laugh when Anders' two middle fingers made a rude gesture towards the templar.

Oghren's hand slapped the blonde mage's forearm, making the latter winced slightly. "Welcome aboard kid!"

"Me? A Grey Warden..." Anders muttered, still surprised by the strange turn of events. He met his new commander's gaze and she offered a small but geniune smile. He grinned back. "I guess that could work..."

Elisa turned her attention back to Anora. "Thank you for allowing me to conscript him."

"I did say I will offer what aid I can," Anora replied, smiling briefly, then added, "now if you have everything under control..." Her gaze turned to Loghain. "I would like to speak to my father."

_Must be a family matter_, she mused as she gave the queen a nod. She turned to Varel as he called her attention while Loghain and Anora went off to somewhere more private. "First off," he explained, "as seneschal, I will aid you in ruling Amaranthine. Second, we must perform the Joining to remedy our... situation."

_Ah hot meal and bath would have been nice..._She sighed and nodded. "Very well. Let's get it done." She, with Oghren and Anders, followed the seneschal to the throne room.

"Uh, Commander, a moment," Anders called as he moved to walk beside her, "I just want thank you."

"Oh..." She stared at him for a moment, wondering if she truly did him a favor. She shrugged and merely replied, "well, it'll be a waste to have someone with your skill to be hanged for crime I'm certain you did not commit."

He chuckled. "Just because of that? And here I thought, I've charmed my way through your heart."

It was difficult for her not to laugh when around someone as light-hearted as Anders. _It would be a shame if he dies during the Joining_, she mused before pushing such grim thoughts away. They need more Grey Wardens. Pessimism isn't going to help achieve that. "If it makes you feel better, you're almost there." She grinned slightly. "Perhaps after the Joining, you can try your luck again."

Once the Joining Ritual had ended, Elisa was relieved that neither died. Oghren, for that matter, drank the blood like some normal dwarven ale. Whatever doubts she had on the dwarf becoming a Warden had completely vanished as she heard him belch then mutter, "not bad".

The mage had her more worried though. She considered the possibility that he might run away. _If that happens_, she wondered, _could I do what Duncan did to Ser Jory? _She watched Anders and sighed in relief when Anders accepted the cup and muttered something about waking up in Rivain wearing only his smallclothes before drinking the cup's contents.

When his body collapsed on the floor, Varel bent down to check his pulse. "He lives Commander," he announced. She nodded, her shoulders relaxing before she called some of the servants to carry Anders and escort the new Wardens to their respective quarters.

Before anything else, she had Varel show her where the Orlesians had been staying. She searched each room for anything that could pinpoint them as accomplices of Orlais' nobility. She felt relieved by that, at least.

Her seneschal looked confused as to what she was looking for exactly, but she merely explained that she wanted to check if there were Warden documents left in their rooms — which is partly true since did find some.

After that, Varel led her to her quarters. She paused for a moment when they stood just outside, realizing that this was the old arl's room. _I rather sleep in the cold hard floor than Howe's bed! _Somehow sensing the Warden-Commander's internal distress, Varel explained, "every furnishings here had been replaced Commander. I doubt you would like them either way. Most were too gaudy."

Elisa sighed in relief and grinned. "Thank you Varel." As she entered the office which was connected to her bedchambers, the sound of clunking armor echoed in the hallway. She and the seneschal turned towards the direction of the sound and saw Loghain approaching.

Varel nodded to the entering Warden before he turned his attention back to the Commander. "There is one last thing before I take my leave. Recently the Orlesian Wardens caught a thief wandering around the Keep."

She raised a brow. "What about him?"

"Well, you see," he explained, "it took four Grey Wardens to restrain him. I heard he even gave one of the Wardens a black eye."

Her curiosity was now piqued. "Interesting..."

Loghain noticed that glint in her eyes while she was in deep thought. "You're not going to..."

Shifting her attention towards him, she asked, "why not? I recruited you."

"Oh, I see. So now I'm the new standard for recruitment," he muttered dryly, though made no further protest as his Commander then asked Varel, "so where is he now?"

"In the dungeons Commander."

She responded with a nodded. "I see. I will see him after supper. You may take your leave." The seneschal bowed to her before left the room. Once the door closed, her hand gestured for Loghain to sit on one of the two chairs near her desk then placed the documents she found on top of the desk. "So," she started when he had sat down and she placed her bow on a weapon rack and the quiver beside it, "is the Queen staying in for the night?"

He shook his head. "She left immediately after our brief conversation."

She sat down on the larger chair behind the desk then leaned back against it. "May I ask what she wanted to discuss to you? If it's not a private matter."

"It isn't." He sighed heavily before handing the letter Anora gave to him. He watched her read the contents as he added, "the letter came from Weisshaupt." His lips curled down into a deep frown. "I've been commanded to join the Wardens in Montsimard. They think I might interfere if I stay here in Ferelden." He grumbled bitterly, more to himself, "and here I thought darkspawn blood will be the last poison I have to swallow."

"You're not going."

He blinked for a moment as he looked at her with knitted brows. "Weren't you listening? I said it came from-"

"Weisshaupt. Yes, I heard." She placed the letter down on her table then glanced up to meet his gaze.. "And my reply to that is you're not going."

He stared at her incredulously, lips parted slightly as he found no words for such open defiance. "You're going to disobey direct orders from the First Warden just like that?"

"The First Warden can kiss my arse," she replied, a scowl forming on her lips, "if he wants you shipped off to Orlais, he could have had at least told me about it while I was there then sent a battalion of Wardens with me back to Ferelden."

"So that's my worth then. A battalion of Wardens?" He leaned back against his chair, crossing his arms.

"The entire Wardens of Weisshaupt actually but I doubt he would approve of that kind of agreement." She sighed then stood up from her seat and walked towards the window, her eyes glancing down at the Keep's staffs and soldiers busying themselves with searching for survivors, tending to the wounded, or burning darkspawn corpses.

After a few seconds of silence, she finally spoke while still facing the window. "With the arling threatened by this... new breed of darkspawns, we will need more than just four Wardens, not to mention, there's also running Amaranthine..."_Maker! i should have listened to mother's lecture more closely! _She exhaled and rubbed the bridge of her nose then turned around to face him. "I'll send the First Warden a letter that your trip to Orlais will be delayed. I'll explain our situation as well. Maker willing, he forgets all about it once this is over."

He scoffed. "Such optimism."

"I'm doing you a favor as well." She grinned slightly. "Unless, you're excited to join the Orlesians in Montsimard. If that's the case, don't let me stop you." The scowl he gave her was enough of an aswer. She went back to her desk and scanned the documents she found earlier. "Speaking of Orlesian Wardens..."

"Orlesians or not, they did not deserve their fate here," Loghain muttered.

Elisa nodded. "I agree, though that's not what I wanted to discuss." Setting down the parchments, she added, "the Orlesian Wardens are not involved. I checked their rooms. There are no evidence to support my theory."

"Even so," he replied, "we should be wary. I'll send word to Anora to secure our borders." He stood up to leave but as he approached the door, she asked, "did you... mention to her about... the letters I showed you?"

He grimaced as silence deafened the entire office for a few moments. "No. She was fond of that bastard, and though pragmatic as she may be, I prefer not to see her get hurt."

"She would be asking questions sooner or later, no doubt," she pointed out.

"I know." He opened the door and turned his head to the side and met his Commander's gaze. "But until then, I prefer if we keep that between us." He waited for her nod before leaving the room.

After changing from her leather armor into a white tunic and pair of trousers, Elisa made her way down to the dungeons on her own, knowing the way all too well. The soldier who was guarding the outside of the prison, stood up and bowed lightly to her when she approached him. She nodded to him in acknowledgement. "What can you tell me about this prisoner?"

"All I know is that he was caught poking around the estate at night," the soldier replied.

"Not even a name?" She asked and the man responded by shaking his head. She sighed and added, "very well. I will speak to him alone though."

"As you wish Commander." The soldier took out his keys and opened the door. "There's a dagger inside a wooden crate, just in case. You best be careful. I'll tell the seneschal you came. He'll want to know what you want to do with him."

She slowly entered the room and approached the cell. She could see a figure of a man stepping out from the shadows. His eyes that were filled with anger, suddenly shifted to surprise as they widened. "Elisa?"

She stared at him intently and quickly recognized who he was. He may have grown taller, his built larger, but those grey eyes were something she would never forget. "Nathaniel..." She didn't realize she suddenly breathed out his name until the word left her lips.

He stepped forward, his hands clutching the bars tightly. "Maker's breath... What are you doing here? They said the Couslands—"

"Are dead?" She finished as her arms crossed. "They did die except for Fergus and me. I suppose I should thank your traitorous father for that."

His brows furrowed. "How can you say that!? Father would never do that to Teryn Cousland! They have been good friends since the Orlesian occupation!"

She snorted. "You must have been raised by a different man then. The Arl Howe that ordered that attack was an ambitious bastard who would not settle for less than everything."

His fists clenched even tighter on the bars. "There must have been a mistake!"

"What other proof do you want Nathaniel!? Do you want to hear testimonies from the other people he tortured?" She stepped closer, now few inches from where he stood. "What are you doing here anyway? This is already property of the Wardens."

He held her gaze for a moment then looked away. There was no point in hiding it. If the Warden-Commander had murdered his father in his own home, he doubted he would let him go alive even just for the crime of theft. "I... I intended to kill the Warden-Commander... to avenge my father.."

Her eyes widened as stared at Nathaniel whose grip on the bars slackened. "But then I considered... to just take the rest of my family's things... They're all I have left."

She closed her eyes and sighed heavily. "Nathaniel..." Her words were soft but loud enough for him to hear. "I am sorry... Truly sorry..."

He looked at with utter confusion written on his face. He was about to ask her to clarify but then a Varel entered the room and called out, "Warden-Commander."

She turned around and replied, "please wait outside for a few more minutes. I wish to interrogate this man privately." With a reluctant nod, he left the room.

Grey eyes stared at Elisa in disbelief as his rage began to fuel up. "You're... the Warden-Commander!?"

She faced Nathaniel once more, her expression filled with sadness, yet she kept her voice steady. "I am."

"How could you kill my father!?" He yelled as his banged on the bars.

"He left me no choice! He was holding Queen Anora hostage! He refused to yield!" She yelled back. "Do you think I want him dead!? For all the crimes he committed, death was too merciful!" She took a deep shaky breath and calmed down a bit.

"Look…" He spoke after a heavy sigh. "The war was... horrible… The entire Blight was… But whatever my father did shouldn't affect my entire family. The Howes are pariahs now… those of us left…"

"But…" She opened her mouth to defend herself but no words came out since she knew that he was right. It was their father's crime, not his or anyone else in their family. Guilt made her avoid his gaze. "You're right… It shouldn't have."

Nathaniel walked away from the bars and slid down on the floor, his back against the wall. "And now you get to decide my fate as well…"

She turned her back away from the cell and walked towards the door; yet she stopped just as the knob was at arm's reach. Was she really going to execute this man? Just for the crime of theft? It wasn't even theft considering the items he took belonged to his family in the first place. She turned around and saw him slumped down, succumbing to his fate. _Maker, this might bite me in the arse in the future_, she thought as she approached his cell once more. "If I let you go," she began, "what will you do?"

"If you let me go…" His head shot up as his eyes widened. _Was she serious?_ "I-I don't know… I just came back to Ferelden a month ago." _Why would she even… was she expecting me to be grateful and just forget what she did to my family!?_ The thought made him glare at her sharply. "If you let me go, I might come back here, and you might not catch me next time."

"And then what?" Her question left him silent, and that was all the answer she needed. Returning to the door, she opened it called out her seneschal. When she and Varel returned, her next statement had both stare at her as though she was mad.

"Return to him his belongings and let him go."

"C-commander," Varel sputtered, "I… I must object! You want to let a thief keep what he stole!?"

Her sapphire eyes were calm when she stared at him yet she held his gaze to signify her certainty. "Those are things he owned in the first place. He's Nathaniel Howe, if you did not recognize."

"A Howe?" He glanced towards the prisoner for a moment then back to his Commander. "More reason for us not to release him. What if he–"

"What? Tries to kill me?" Elisa finished with a raised brow. "I interrogated him earlier and he didn't know that I was the Warden-Commander until you called me. He said that he only returned to claim some of his family's things – no doubt they hold some sentimental value to him. Now, give his things back so he can leave."

Varel hesitated for a bit before he sighed. "Very well, Commander." He took out the keys and opened the prison cell. Elisa watched Nathaniel step out before she turned around and left.

_Maker, I hope I did the right thing._

End of Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

Elisa never thought that she would end up in the throne room with Loghain while attending to Nathaniel's Joining Ritual. She never even considered recruiting the son of a traitor but here he was with Varel reciting the words said before drinking the darkspawn blood. Her mind began to look back how exactly this happened.

It began when she made her way to the forest not so far away from the Keep during the middle of the night. Meeting Nathaniel in that prison cell was unsettling and her mind would not permit her to sleep. She thought of bringing her hound but seeing Caena sleep so soundly made her decide to just bring her bow and daggers just in case she encounters trouble.

She navigated her way to the forest, partly reminiscing to the days where her father and Nate's would have their usual hunting party while her mother and Delilah stayed in the picnic area while having tea. She smiled as she remembered her mother's attempts to make her stay with them but she always finds a way to join Fergus or Nathaniel while they hunt for the deer. Well, more like Nathaniel since Fergus was more focus on chatting.

After a while of aimless wandering, she finally stumbled upon a clearing._ Ah, I remember this place._ Approaching the lake, she sat down on the edge and closed her eyes. She remembered it was the first time she joined the hunting party and ended up getting lost. It took three hours or so before Fergus and Nathaniel found her on that same spot crying. _That was embarrassing_, she thought as her cheeks turned light pink.

Then the sound of the rustling leaves pulled her out of her thoughts. Quickly grabbing her bow, she stood up and cautiously looked around the area. Her eyes narrowed as they spotted a figure of a man behind the shadows. "Best you come out now," she threatened as her bow pointed towards the direction of her stalker, "my fingers are getting weary and they might just let go of this string."

She saw the figure step forward, his hands held up defensively. "Nathaniel." Her brows furrowed. "Didn't I let you go?"

From behind the unarmed Howe, Loghain, only in leather armor rather than his usual Chevalier armor, stepped out with the arrow on his bow still aimed at the younger man. "You should have at least brought your dog when you've decided to walk a mile away from the Keep."

She lowered her bow a bit as she asked, "how did you find me?"

"I was inside the training hall when I sensed your presence passing by, so I followed you." He glared at Nathaniel sharply. "Good thing too since I saw him stalking you. Be more aware of your surroundings next time."

She sighed heavily, not wanting to get into any further arguments with the older man; especially when he was making a fair point. "Yes, yes, I'll try to remember that next time." Returning her attention back to Nathaniel, she asked, "why are you here?"

"You... set me free," Nathaniel mumbled, the disbelief of what she just did evident in his tone, "even after I told you I want to kill you."

She heard Loghain snarl as he heard the last phrase and his finger pulled the bowstring further. He would have released it if not for her hand gesturing for him to hold. She turned back to Nathaniel as he continued, "and you even lied to your seneschal. I… I want to know why."

"Because you are not your father," she replied with a stern expression. When he remained silent, she strode past him. "Loghain, let's head back to the–"

"Take me with you." Nathaniel's statement made her pause from walking further. Turning around to face him, she saw no doubt or reluctance in his eyes. "Make me a Grey Warden."

"The Joining is dangerous," she warned, "it could kill you."

"If the Maker wills it, then so be it." Despite the arrow that was still trained on him, he stepped closer and placed a gentle yet firm hand on her arm. Luckily, the man who had the arrow aimed at him remained watching warily, most likely due to the fact that his commander did not make any resistance to his touch. "Elisa… I have nowhere else to go. I fully expected to die in that prison, maybe I even wanted to." She regarded him with a blank stare, a feat he never considered possible to the expressive Lady Cousland he knew before; yet, it didn't stop him as he still pressed on. "Make me a Grey Warden. Please, just let me try."

Loghain side-glanced towards his commander and he knew well the look she was giving the young Howe. _She's actually considering!?_ He scowled and interrupted, hoping to get some sense in her head. "Given your history with his father, how can we to trust him? He could easily kill you if he finds an opportunity."

Nathaniel's brows furrowed as he turned around to the older man. "You're one to talk Loghain. Weren't you the one who caused the civil war? Left King Cailan and the Grey Wardens in Ostagar–"

"Enough." Her leveled yet commanding statement silenced the two men. She took a deep breath as she massaged the bridge of her nose. "First off…" She looked at her Loghain with narrowed eyes. "We can't afford to be picky; not with the new threat." Her gaze shifted towards Nathaniel and added, "second, Loghain has already proven that I can trust him so he's not going anywhere. If you don't like it, then I won't force you to join."

Loghain's lips curl down but he begrudgingly agreed. "Fine, but if he poisons you, don't expect me to save you." Elisa watched her Second slung his bow back on one shoulder before she looked at the younger man and silently waited for his decision.

Nathaniel certainly had nowhere else to go so after a few more seconds of silence, he nodded.

She was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts when Varel announced after checking Nathaniel's pulse, "he lives Commander." She muttered a thank you and quick apology for waking him up in the middle of the night. He offered to assist her in bringing the new Warden to his quarters but, she declined, stating, "we'll bring him to his room. Get some rest Varel. We have a long day tomorrow."

After the seneschal gave a hesitant nod and returned to his room, Elisa glanced over to Loghain who remained silent though the disapproval was still clearly written on his face. "He's already one of us now," she stated before she went over to Nathaniel and slung one arm around her shoulders. She tried standing up but, with how heavy the body was, she stumbled and down on the carpeted floor with Nathaniel on top of her.

Loghain sighed and slung the younger man's arm around his neck, pulling him off the Warden-Commander with much ease. She stood up and slung the other arm around her shoulders; even though her Second didn't seem need her help.

The two were silent as they walked down the hallway. Elisa wasn't certain what to talk about when the former teryn was brooding… more than usual. Side-glancing towards his direction, it finally occurred to her that he was wearing light leather armor rather than his usual Chevalier armor. It was... strange, though in a good way. Years of wearing that heavy suit of armor did wonders to both his massive shoulders and limbs; though age ought to be blamed for some parts of his skin that didn't cling to the muscles closely anymore.

Loghain must have sensed her scrutinizing gaze as he turned his head to the side and asked with a raised brow, "what?"

"Leather armor looks good on you," she replied calmly as though she wasn't caught off-guard, "makes you look less… intimidating."

He scoffed dismissively. "If your intention is to flatter me young lady, I should tell you now that you are doing the opposite."

She merely shrugged. "Flattery wasn't my intention, nor was insult. It's just that I've never seen you out of your armor before." She had concluded at some point in their travels that his armor was literally part of his skin. Glancing down at the unconscious body they carried, she added, "nor could I imagine you to be stealthy."

"He almost detected me earlier," he admitted begrudgingly, "fortunately, I suppose, that he was more determined on following you."

Silence once more deafened the entire hallway. It was only when they reached Nathaniel's old room and Loghain placed the rogue down on the bed that Elisa asked as stood by the doorway, "do you think… I did the right thing?"

"You asked me this now after he had already taken the Joining?" He turned around and looked at her incredulously with furrowed brows; yet he paused from adding further comment when he saw her eyes lingering on the unconscious man.

She did not bother listening to Loghain's answer. She didn't even realize that she spoke that question out loud. She was too lost in her own thoughts. _Is this life truly what he wants?_ Surely, there was a fate for him better than ending in the Deep Roads.

She sighed heavily, brushing off any further thoughts about the matter. They needed more Wardens and it was foolish to turn down a gift horsed in the mouth. When her eyes met Loghain's which looked confused by her sudden silence, she realized that she must have spoken something out loud. "Forget I said anything," she stated, her hand gestured dismissively before she left the room.

Hours later, Nathaniel woke up as the sunlight from the window touched his cheek. He stirred for a while before he sat up. As his vision cleared, he scanned the room. He blinked a few times. _This is… my room…_ He then wondered if what had happened – his father's death, Elisa as the new Warden-Commander, joining the Wardens, and then the darkspawns – were all but just a terrible nightmare.

_If that was case_, he wondered as he glanced down and noticed that he was still wearing his leather armor, _what happened last night? Did I get drunk?_ He wasn't the drinking sort. It was more of a hobby of his younger brother, Thomas. He was usually the one dragging the other out of the tavern. Then again, his brother did coax him a number of times to drink. Maybe it was one of those nights. He was feeling nauseous, though, thankfully, no headache.

After taking a few deep breaths, he got out of the bed and searched his cabinet for clothes. He found an old brown tunic, leather jerkins and trousers. "Odd," he muttered as he stared at the clothing, "it's been years since I saw these." Still, he wore them before stepping out of his room.

That's when he realized that he didn't dream all of it.

"Eighty sovereigns!?" Elisa's voice echoed in the hallway. "That's madness!" Nathaniel glanced over to the direction where the voices came from, his eyes widened and his feet felt like they were cemented on the ground.

"That's what I told the dwarf," Loghain replied, the volume of his voice was not as loud as his commander, "but he's the only stonemason available so we have little choice."

She groaned before it was followed by series of curses that the Nathaniel didn't expect from the Lady Cousland he knew. "I've saved up some money during the Blight, and Fergus donated some, but I doubt it'll be enough."

"Anora brought me the money I've saved over the years," he explained and she quickly protested, "no, absolutely not! That's your money. You can't just donate–" He seemed to have silenced her before he finished his proposition. "You may borrow the money, and reimburse me when the arling is in a more… stable condition."

It was then that Nathaniel saw the pair turn around the corner, both carrying a few parchments. Elisa stopped, followed by Loghain, before she said flatly, "ah, you're awake. Good morning then. Breakfast is ready. The others are probably already downstairs."

"Others?" Nathaniel raised a brow. "As in the Orlesian Wardens?" He wondered if some had survived. From what he had picked up from the chatting guards yesterday, all of those Orlesians died during the assault. Not that he wished their fate upon them. No deserved such. Still, he felt no love for them after the way they hauled him to the prison, refusing to give him food or treat a prisoner like him as a human at least.

"Ah, no, they're all dead," Elisa replied, and from the casual tone of her voice, Nathaniel guessed that she bore no great care for them. She began to walk again but as she stepped past him, he placed a hand on her shoulder. She halted and turned her head to the side. "Yes? Is there something else you need?"

"I have some questions. There were… dreams, strange ones," he explained and his Commander understood as she gave a small nod. "Have your breakfast first. It'll be a lengthy explanation." When his hand loosened, she continued walking with Loghain following beside her, and the two continued with their discussion about needed repairs for the Vigil's Keep.

The dining hall had been crowded by soldiers and some other staffs of the Keep. Nathaniel piled his plate high with the food being served. It was odd to him since never felt this hungry before. Glancing around the room, he searched for an empty table, preferring to eat alone. When he found one, he sat down and began to eat.

However, after only a few seconds a blonde man wearing Tevinter robes approached his table and asked with a wide grin. "I don't normally ask this to men, but would you mind some company?"

Nathaniel blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

The blonde chuckled as his hand gestured towards the room, and the archer realized that there were no more tables available. The latter merely shrugged and the former was all too eager to sit down across him and eat his meal ravenously. Well, not like he wasn't doing it either. _Maker, I've never felt this hungry before!_

After swallowing the bread he was chewing, the blonde man looked at the man across him. "Haven't seen you around before. You look familiar though. Have we met?"

Nathaniel sighed in exasperation. Maybe if the chatty man in front of him found out who he was, he might decide to leave. _Not a bad idea_, he thought before pointing at the portrait that was still hung high above the wall behind the blonde. The latter followed where the finger was pointing and saw a portrait of a younger version of Nathaniel. Both men were silent for a moment which Nathaniel was grateful for but then the blonde stated, "so, you're a Howe."

Nathaniel's brows furrowed as he stared at the grinning man in front of him. "Do you have a point, mage?"

"Hey, I'm fond of the Howes," the mage quipped, "I'm also fond of the Whys, the Whos and the Whats."

The archer rolled his eyes as he tried to ignore the blonde laughing at his own joke. "How clever…" He continued eating as the laughed gradually became soft chuckles, and the mage muttered, "oh, it's shameful how long it took me to come up with that."

Someone then snorted and Nathaniel looked over to the red-haired dwarf who had just approached their table and placed his plate down on it. "You call that joke, sparkle fingers?" he taunted before pulling out his flask and drinking… Maker, the rogue didn't even want to know after being able to sniff its foul stench.

Nathaniel sighed at the argument between the two men with him now, and tried finishing his meal so he could get away from the noise. When he was about to leave, he paused as the Warden-Commander and her Second entered the hall. The dwarf noticed her as well and almost stood up from his seat as he called out, "hey Commander!" The mage followed the dwarf's gave and grinned brightly to her. "Morning Commander!"

Elisa glanced over to their table and gave the group a brief smile before she turned to the Captain of the Guard who had just approached her. The mage shifted his gaze towards the dwarf and whispered, "please tell me she's single."

"Don't get your hopes up sparkle-fingers." The dwarf took a long gulp of the ale in his flask.

"Why not?" Anders raised a brow then grinned. "I doubt she can resist my charms."

"Not unless you're the King," the dwarf grumbled, though he fell silent as though it was something he shouldn't have said. Nathaniel's brow arched. _The King?_

The mage seemed oblivious to what the dwarf meant. "Her standards aren't that high, are they?"

"Whose standards?" The question from their commander who now stood behind Anders made the three men stiffen. She didn't seem all too interested with their discussion, thank the Maker, and did not press on when they didn't answer. "Anyway, since the three of you are here and done eating, please follow me to my office. We have to discuss important Grey Warden matters."

Nathaniel stared at the other two men with him_. They're… Wardens? _The mage, yes possible, but the drunken dwarf… unexpected… to put it lightly. The Warden-Commander seemed to have noticed the other two were surprised as well so she added, "ah, Anders, Oghren. This is Nathaniel Howe. He had just undergone the Joining last night."And with that, she turned around and began making her way to the office with the two immediately in tow.

The archer watched her for a moment as he stood up, unused to the Elisa he was seeing right now. Before, she follows, but now she leads. Before, she was the too-young daughter of Teryn Cousland, but now she's the Warden-Commander of Ferelden. What unsettled him the most though was that before, she was passionate and lively, but now she's cold and almost dead.

_What happened Elisa?_ He wondered before he followed behind the two Wardens.

End of Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5

Elisa stepped in her office with the three new Wardens in tow behind her. Loghain paused for segregating the important documents from the scraps of paper and looked up to his Commander who scowled momentarily at the pile of important documents before letting out a heavy sigh.

"So, what are we going to talk about exactly?" Anders asked.

"I brought you here to discuss matters about being a Grey Warden," she replied before taking a deep breath as she wondered how the other Warden-Commanders explain this to the junior members of the Order. Loghain sensed her hesitance so he began with a deadpan look, "let's cut to the chase. Good news is the Joining grants you the ability to track darkspawn; bad news is since our minds are connected to them, you'll have nightmares every night. Worse is that you only have thirty or less years to live."

"Not exactly how I want to put it," Elisa stated as she glared at Loghain before turning to the other three, "but, yes, later on, our bodies will succumb to the Taint."

Nathaniel's brows furrowed. "I thought the Joining makes us immune to it."

"That is the popular belief," she replied as she tried to keep a neutral expression, "however, the truth of the matter is that the Joining only delays its onset."

"So…" Anders mumbled, "we're going to die…?"

"All of us are going to die either way." Elisa shrugged. "You, for example, would have been sooner if I hadn't conscripted you." She watched both the mage and the rogue as their bodies tensed with the disapproval written all over their face. She glanced over to the dwarf. Oghren, at least, seemed unperturbed; which made her at ease. Though, it was either because he doesn't care or he's already too drunk to care. "You can run away if you want," she added, assuming that they might be considering that, "though, you should know that given time, you would find yourselves either in the Deep Roads, or pursued by darkspawns."

Anders seemed to slowly come around. "Well, at least I have more freedom here than in the Circle." However, Nathaniel spat bitterly, "so this was your plan all along? Kill the last of the Howes."

"You should curb your tongue boy." Loghain growled but before he could move, his Commander was quick and now she was standing in front of the archer, her cold blue eyes glared intensely at the man in front of her.

"Let me remind you," she spoke in even tone, yet even a fool would recognize the anger she was holding back, "that it was YOU who came to me – begged me – to make you a Grey Warden despite my warning. And if I truly wanted to kill you, I would have done so already. Remember that the next time you accuse me of something only your traitorous father could do."

Not liking the growing tension inside the office, Anders quickly stepped between them and grinned nervously. "Hey, hey… Let's… let's all calm down for a moment… Take a deep breath…"

Elisa stepped back and continued explaining everything else – from the necessity of Wardens during the Blight to the physical changes they will be experiencing. Nathaniel barely listened. He was still furious, and her presence was helping in controlling his raging emotions. Though now, he was angry at himself for being a fool. He should have listened to her when she tried to dissuade him. He sighed. There was really no point on dwelling on the "what if's". It had already happened and for better or worse, he is now a Grey Warden. There is no turning back.

Focusing back on the group, he noticed that they seemed to be discussing something of a lighter nature. With the wide grin the mage was giving, it seemed that way. "So, what you're saying is," Anders spoke with glee at his Commander's reddening cheeks, "the Taint will likely make us a lot more horny." He spared Loghain a momentary glance before turning back to her. "Everyone?"

Clearly, the mage was enjoying the uncomfortable state his Commander was in. He suspected her Second to be in the same position as well, though if he truly was, he didn't show it. "Yes Anders," Elisa sighed in exasperation, regretting now that she mentioned about the increase in a Warden's sexual appetite. "Maker's breath, can we drop the topic already?"

"You're the one who brought it up in the first place Commander." The mage pressed on. "So, what should I do when…"

She let out another sigh. "If it comes to that, then go behind a tree or a dark corner and deal with it yourself."

"By myself?" He gasped dramatically. "So, it's every man for himself!? What ever happened to comraderee!?"

"Would you like Oghren to help you then?" The corners of her lips tilted up as her hand gestured towards the dwarf who had just belched. The mage cringed and muttered, "ew."

Her smile broadened a bit at the victory over the blonde mage, although it was momentary as her expression became stoic once more. "Tomorrow, immediately after the fealty ceremony, we'll be heading to Amaranthine. So for today…" She turned her head towards Anders and Nathaniel, "you two are assigned in the apothecary. Make a list of all the ingredients that needs restocking." Her gaze lingered on the archer for a moment as she pondered on something. "Nathaniel, bring me the list afterwards." She heard him reply only with a curt nod and a low grunt, and it was enough of an answer from him. Shifting her attention to the two warriors, she continued, "Loghain, Oghren, head down the basement of the Keep. Sergent Maverlies reported that the explosion during the attack did a serious damage, and now darkspawns dug their way in.

When they gave a nod to the Warden-Commander, she immediately dismissed them before she sat down and began working on the pile of parchments.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when Nathaniel returned to the Commander's office with the list in hand. It was a mundane job and the mage could have done it himself. He guessed Elisa just doesn't want him anywhere near weapons that he could use against her – not that he would. As he pondered earlier while looking through the poisons in the shelves, killing her wouldn't bring his family's honor back, so he might as well just do his job.

As he approached the door, he could hear the conversation between Elisa and Loghain. He then realized that the door was slightly open. His hand was about to open it further but paused when he overheard a name in their conversation that piqued his interest.

"And? Did you find Adria?" he heard the Warden-Commander ask.

"We have," Loghain replied, "however, she was beyond saving."

"I see," she mumbled but then suddenly became silent. Seconds later, she called out in an even tone, "Nathaniel, standing outside won't get the job done. Please come in."

The archer stiffened slightly, stunned for a moment that she knew he was eavesdropping and partly questioning his skills in stealth. He reluctantly entered the room, his eyes wandered around the office, momentarily glancing at Loghain who had his arms crossed and his narrowed eyes watching him warily, then drifted to his Commander who was scribbling something on a parchment. "How did you know I was there?"

"I didn't," she replied without sparing him a glance as she kept her focus on whatever she was writing, "I did sense another person tainted other than Loghain so I guessed that it was you." Setting down her quill, she looked up and stretched her arms with an open hand. "The list, please." When he handed her the folded list, she placed it down with the other documents then returned to writing. "You may leave."

However, the archer had no intention of stepping out of the room without getting his answers. "What happened to Adria?" His brows furrowed as his gaze shifted from Loghain who had a stoic expression to Elisa who looked reluctant to discuss the matter. When neither seemed eager to respond, he stepped towards the front of her desk, his hands resting on top of it as he leaned forward and met the auburn-haired woman's gaze. "She was like a mother to me. Please, tell me what happened."

She held his gaze, though not for too long as she finally gave in to his plea. "Loghain and Oghren found a dead mabari with a note attached to it." She searched the letter among the piles of parchments then handed it over to Nathaniel as proof. "She was… already dead when they found her."

"Are you certain?" He asked with a desperate look in his eyes. "Maybe that wasn't her. What if–"

"I've checked the body," she immediately responded, "even with some of the sign of corruption on her face; I recognized that it was her." She watched Nathaniel as he sat down on one of the chairs in front of the desk, grief evident to his features. "The Vigil's staffs are preparing the funeral pyre," she explained, unsure if it would give any comfort, "and the Chantry priest had arrived not too long ago. They're going to start soon."

"Thank you," the archer suddenly stated as he silently stood up and left the office.

For a moment, Elisa and Loghain stared at the door, both waiting for Nathaniel to be far enough for them not sense him any longer. The dark-haired warrior looked at his Commander silently and the latter, though she had returned to her paperwork, was unsettled by his intense gaze. Finally, she gave in and set down her quill. "What is it Loghain?"

His gaze shifted elsewhere. "Nothing."

Her brow arched up as she watched him as he returned to reviewing the documents she hadn't read yet. "It didn't look like nothing." It was her turn to pester him with a long stare.

In normal circumstances, it didn't bother Loghain. She had tried such tactic several times during their travel whenever she was trying to pry war stories from him. Usually, she would just give up and drop the topic. However, that time, she didn't have the stacks of parchments to deal with. "Paperwork breeds like rabbits Commander. Better not waste your time owlishly staring at me."

"I've been working for hours. My eyes are straining already." A corner of her lips tilted up. "At least, let me stare at something refreshing for a few minutes."

He scoffed as he put the parchment he was holding back on the table before moving away from the spot where he stood to the nearby shelves. "You are looking at the wrong person."

Propped on her elbows with her chin in her fists, her eyes narrowed from gazing at him who had his back facing her in the dimly lit area of the room. "Am I? Why do I feel so refreshed now then?"

"I suggest you have a healer check your eyesight then child," he replied dryly as he reached for a record from the shelf.

She pouted but dropped the subject and unwillingly returned her attention back to the stacks of parchments. Not more than five minutes later, she pushed her chair back, stretched her arms up then stood up. Her head turned towards Loghain who paused from reading and looked at her with a raised brow.

"Just going out to take a quick stroll," was her reply to his silent question before she left the room and made her way to the Keep's grounds.

* * *

Nathaniel stood solemnly as the priest offered prayers while Adria's body burned in the pyre. He may not be a devoted Andrastian, which her late nanny would have scold him, he still believed in the Maker well enough and he wished that her spirit find peace.

As the ashes were gathered in an urn, as he had requested, he noticed his Commander walking towards his direction. However, when she stood beside him with her arms crossed, she remained silent and just watched the grim scenery with a stoic expression – something that surprisingly unsettled him.

"Nathaniel," she began, and he had to hold his urge to sigh in relief for breaking the silence.

"Yes Commander?" he responded coolly, sparing her quick glance in the corner of his eye. She looked like she was considering what she was about to say next. "The basement's been cleared out," she stated, "your family's crypt is in there yes?"

The priest then went over to them and handed Nathaniel the urn just as Elisa continued, "Thomas' body had been recovered and placed there, though I'm not certain about… your father." The last phrase felt too awkward for her to say without hatred in her tone, yet she ignored it. "The estate of the Arl of Denerim had been destroyed during the attack. All that had been left were piles of rubble."

And just as he was about to ask about his sister, a familiar voice called him out. "Why if it isn't little Nate!" He quickly turned his attention to the direction of the speaker and his eyes widened. "Groundskeeper Samuel!"

Samuel smiled to Elisa who looked just as surprised as the archer. "And little Elie as well, or should I call you Warden-Commander now?"

"Elie is just fine, groundskeeper." She smiled slightly.

"I am glad you stayed." Nathaniel asked, "did you know how my sister died? Her remains, were they brought back here? I was in the Free Marches…"

"What are you talking about?" The groundskeeper raised a brow. "Lady Delilah is still alive."

"She is!?" Both Wardens exclaimed and the old elf nodded before adding, "last I heard she married a storekeeper in Amaranthine."

Nathaniel looked over to Elisa. "Could we ask around the shops when we visit Amaranthine tomorrow?" That look of hope in his eyes was something she couldn't say no to. "Well, I am curious about Delilah's well-being." She shrugged then smiled. "Sure, why not?"

"Thank you," he whispered softly, and she responded with a nod before glancing down to the urn he held. "Where do you plan to put that?"

He followed her gaze then thought for a moment. "I considered placing it in the family crypt…" He shook his head. "But I doubt father would approve."

"She is like family to you, so why shouldn't she?" _What's Rendon going to do anyway? Come back from the Fade and haunt the Keep for eternity?_ Her lips parted to speak them out but decided not to, assuming that such quip could upset what fragile good disposition they had right now.

"I suppose it's all right then," he mumbled, "perhaps, place it next to mother's instead." His attention shifted back to his Commander however she had began walking away. Stopping then turning to look at him, she raised a brow. "Aren't you coming?"

He responded with a curious look. "Coming where?"

"The basement, obviously." Not waiting for his reply, she continued making her way to the Keep's basement. Nathaniel blinked as he stared at her for a moment, wondering what in Andraste's name was she going to do down there. _Not like she would pay respect to the man she killed_, he thought, scowling, but nonetheless, he followed her.

* * *

"Oghren."

The drunken dwarf who was sitting on the floor of the wine cellar grinned as he raised the bottle of Antivan Brandy up when he heard his Commander's voice. "There ya are! Come to join ol' Oghren?" The floor had been littered by several empty bottles of wine.

"Maker's breath…" Elisa sighed as she shook her head. She should have told Loghain not to leave the dwarf in the basement once they had cleaned up the mess. Then again, months of travelling with Oghren proved that there's no stopping him from acquiring alcohol. "Do leave some for the Vigil's staffs, will you?"

"Oh, sod it! Fine," he grumbled before emptying the bottle he held then standing up. The two went out but she stopped when her Grey Warden senses are picking up something. It was very faint but near. She thought at first that it was Nathaniel's since the crypt was not far from where she stood. Yet, this one felt different. She wondered if it was one of those darkspawns who attacked the Keep. "Oghren," she called the dwarf out before he could leave the room, "are you certain you've checked every room?"

"Aye Commander," he replied. She considered the possibility that perhaps she was just being paranoid but that weak nagging sensation continued to pester which made her certain that there were still some. She couldn't tell how many, but there were definitely more than one. Glancing towards at the room across the wine cellar, she asked the dwarf once more, "how about there?"

"Didn't find one there." He watched her approach the room cautiously as her hands sheathing the daggers on her belt; then he followed behind with his hands tightly gripping his battleaxe. When she opened the door, it was just as what Oghren said – empty except for the Andraste statue and the bookshelves; yet, she still could sense something. And then, she suddenly recognized what it was.

"Shriek!" She warned as she and the dwarf quickly covered their ears just as ear splitting cries echoed in the small room. From the shadows appeared four tall, lean darkspawns with jagged blades attached to their forearms. They rushed towards them but Oghren swung his battleaxe in a wide arc, making them step back.

The room was too small for them to move properly so Elisa ordered for them to retreat to the next room which was much larger. Three of the shrieks attacked the dwarf who continued swinging his weapon wildly. One rushed towards the Warden-Commander who parried and evaded its sharp claws until she found an opening and dug her dagger deep in its gut, making it screech in agony.

Suddenly, as she pulled her dagger from her kill, a Shriek appeared from behind her and tackled her down. Its claws cut through her leather armor, and she hissed as its talons began to pierced her skin. Then her attacker suddenly dropped. Her head turned to the side and saw three arrows on its head, one on the back of it while two on its eyes.

Pushing the dead darkspawn off her body, she looked around and saw Nathaniel aiming at the remaining Shriek the dwarf was dealing with. Two arrow struck its chest before Oghren quickly chopped off its head.

The room was empty once more, and the two men quickly approached their Commander who winced as blood continued to stain the back of her armor.

Nathaniel approached her but she kept looking around frantically. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Elisa quickly warned, "One more!" Another ear-splitting cry filled the room. She and Oghren had covered their ears just in time but Nathaniel, who had no idea what her warning meant, fell prey to the haunting scream, causing him to stagger and drop his bow in the process. From the shadows, the Alpha of the Shrieks leaped towards the archer, knocking him down as its sharp nails easily destroyed his leather armor before clawing at his chest.

However, the Alpha suddenly stopped its attack as it screamed in agony. From behind it, daggers continuously stabbed its back. Nathaniel watched his Commander with eyes widened as the flurry never ceased even though the darkspawn was barely moving. It was until the dagger slit its throat that she stopped, and he saw for a moment her eyes were filled with murderous intent and her teeth bared as she panted. Then she met his gaze, and it quickly vanished as her look shifted to concern. How she could stand even with the blood she was losing was a wonder to him.

Her lips began to move as she looked over to Oghren, but he could barely hear what she was saying, the ringing in his ear making it difficult. The dwarf seemed reluctant to leave – which was something assumed since she was pointing towards the exit – but in the end, he followed her order and left.

Elisa then turned her attention back to him and knelt down beside his body. He looked up and noticed that her face looked pale – as though willpower was the only thing that's keeping her from collapsing. His vision slowly began to blur and he wondered if it was also an effect of the darkspawn's screech earlier. As he closed his eyes, he felt her hands gripping his shoulders and shaking his body. She seemed to be saying something. 'Open your eyes' perhaps? He wasn't sure. All he remembered after that was total darkness.

End of Chapter 5


	6. Chapter 6

When Nathaniel opened his eyes, he was greeted by Anders' hands glowing as he finished casting a healing spell. Noticing that his patient had awoken, the mage grinned to him before drinking a flask of lyrium potion. "Where am I?" the archer muttered as he moved but winced at the pain in his torso. His hand moved to where the ache came from and realized that his entire upper half was bandaged.

"You don't remember being badly injured and lying on a pool of your own blood?" Anders' statement made his brows furrow. _Was I that injured?_ Everything happened so fast. He looked at the mage who wiggled his brows as he grinned. "You know, Commander had been so worried about you. She wouldn't leave your side or allowed anyone to even bandage her until you get yours first. Loghain had to drag her out of this room." He heard the blonde let out a sigh. "Wish I was the one injured… but then again, I'm the only healer around here so it's probably a bad idea. Still, dying with a lovely lady like the Commander beside my corpse is a nice death right?"

Nathaniel shook his head before he began moving out of the bed, ignoring the pain his injuries were causing. However, the blonde man quickly grabbed his shoulders as he wagged a finger. "Uh-uh, Commander's orders you stay in bed."

"Or what?" He glared at the mage who added, "or she's not taking you to Amaranthine tomorrow." Scowling and grumbling a curse, the archer made no further protest, allowing the other man to push him back down on the bed so that the latter could cast more healing spells to hasten his recovery.

"Where's my equipment?" Nathaniel asked once the blonde took a break from casting healing magic. If he was going to stay in his room the entire night, he wasn't going to be idle. Surely the mage would not restrict him from restringing the bow he found in the family crypt earlier.

"Commander took them." Anders' reply made his brows furrow. "Took them where?"

"Thrown awa – hey!" This time, despite the mage's effort to push the archer back down, the latter urge to get off the bed and, being the stronger between the two, won in the struggle. With one hand gripping the post, he steadied himself until the pain became tolerable. However, as he paced towards the door, Anders blocked the door. "Move mage!" He growled.

"Absolutely not!" The blonde replied stubbornly, his arm making an x-mark gesture.

Nathaniel's lips thinned as he inhaled deeply. "Look, she threw away something very important – a family heirloom." He watched as the other man lowered his arms and just stood still.

"Just so you know, it's beyond repair," Anders finally stated. He could understand how the archer felt. The pillow from his mother was the only thing the templars allowed him to keep and he never escaped the Circle without it. He noticed the deep frown other gave and he wondered if he would give up on his quest to recover it. Yet, Nathaniel suddenly replied, "it doesn't matter. I want it back."

"If you stay still, this will be over soon."

Both Nathaniel and Anders paused from entering the Warden-Commander's bedchamber when they heard Warden Loghain's voice inside the room. They stared at each other with a confused look then the mage knocked on the door before opening it.

Pillows and some blood stains were scattered around the floor and the room looked as though there had been some struggle. Anders glanced towards the bed where a weary and half-naked Elisa lay down on her stomach with her wrists bound by bandages which were tied to the bedpost. On top of her, Loghain straddled her hips while he worked on bandaging her back. The blonde mage couldn't help but grin broadly and voice out his thought. "Kinky."

The two Senior Wardens looked at Anders for a few seconds before finally realizing their rather… intriguing position. Clearing his throat, Loghain got off his Commander and unbound her wrist. Elisa, once her hands were free, grabbed her tunic nearby and immediately put it on. "Was binding me that necessary Loghain?"

The older man snorted. "I would not have resorted to such if you allowed the Keep's herbalist to see to your wounds."

"I could have done it myself." She glared at him when he made another derisive sound then turned to the two other Wardens with one immediately walking past Anders and standing in front of her.

"Where did you throw it?" Nathaniel asked through gritted teeth.

Elisa raised a brow for a moment before understanding what the archer meant. "Your armor was beyond repair. Besides, even if it's repairable, Wade wouldn't touch it. He doesn't like to fix shabby armors."

"Well, I apologize then Commander if my armor is too shabby for you or your staffs' liking." Nathaniel hissed as he began to lose the grip on his anger. "But I am talking about the bow."

She blinked then knitted her brows. "I didn't throw that away. You think I'm out to destroy every Howe heirloom in this Keep? The staffs here were instructed not to touch whatever things the old Arl left until you have examined them. Records and portraits included."

He opened his mouth but shut it as the anger slowly faded. "You… didn't?" His brows furrowed. "Where is it now then?"

"Wade has it," she replied, "give him two days. He tends to be finicky but no doubt it'll be good as new."

"Oh, so that's what he meant," Anders mumbled before giving the archer an apologetic grin when the latter glared at him.

"Speaking of armors…" Elisa rubbed her chin as she eyed Nathaniel from head to toe. After a few seconds of her scrutinizing gaze, she went inside another room in her chamber and then came out with a set of light armor. "Here, I think this will fit you." She handed them to the archer who examined its texture.

"Drakeskin?" His eyes widened slightly. It was rare to find armors like this ever since the Nevarrans hunted down dragons to extinction. "How did you…"

"Acquire them? Long story short, while looking for the Urn of Sacred Ashes, we killed a group of Dragon Cultists and the dragons they had as pets." she explained monotonously, pushing aside the thoughts of that gruesome battle with the high dragon.

Both the mage and the archer looked at her incredulously before turning their attention to her Second for confirmation. Loghain merely shrugged. "I would not know. At that time we were… on opposing sides." He gestured his hand dismissively. "Ask the dwarf if you want to confirm the story."

"Anyway," she continued, not wanting to linger on the awkward tension slowly building up, "I had commissioned Wade to make a light armor for a Senior Warden from Jader. Unfortunately, he died during the battle before Wade could finish working on it." She shook her head, trying to brush off the memory of Riordan's death. "In any case, rather than have it sit in my armory for eternity, it might as well be put it to good use." She looked at Nathaniel's built once more. "You and Riordan seemed to have a similar build so I think it'll fit you well."

Nathaniel fell silent as he stared at his Commander. He expected arguing, and yelling, but not a new set of armor and a privilege to reclaim more of his family's things. He opened his mouth slightly but no words came out. She didn't seem to care whether he replied or not though as she stated, "if nothing else Nathaniel, go back to your room and rest, lest you want to remain here at the Keep the entire day tomorrow." He merely nodded and left with the mage in tow.

Once they had left, Elisa turned around and met Loghain's gaze. His gaze was as intense as how he had looked at her earlier in her office. "Please don't tell me it's 'nothing'," she said as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I just find it curious," he finally stated as he stood up from the bed, "why you coddle Howe's boy."

"Coddle?" Her brows furrowed. "Loghain, I just gave him a good armor. I'm not going to let my Wardens run around killing darkspawns with worn-out armors."

He approached her. "It's not just about the armor, nor the bow. Ever since he became a Grey Warden, you've been constantly trying to appease him."

"I am not trying to appease him," she replied with a deep frown. "I am trying to build a less hostile relationship with him." She heard him scoff but she continued nonetheless. "Why does it matter anyway? The things I'm allowing him to take are bound to be thrown off somewhere. One man's trash is another man's treasure, or so the saying goes." Her expression was neutral as her sapphire eyes met his sharp ice blue gaze; then a corner of her lips twitched up slightly as her hand moved up to brush against his cheek. "If it makes you feel better, I could do something to appease you."

Loghain swatted her hand away, his features passive. "Interesting evasive maneuver Commander, but such tactics never work on me."

Elisa puffed her cheeks before letting out the air she held then moving towards the door. "I wish not to speak more of this. It's late and I still have to deal with those nobles tomorrow morning."

_Another way for her to evade further questioning_, he thought as he scoffed but did consider what she said. The Banns will be taking their oaths tomorrow and no doubt it will involve boot-licking and currying favors as well – one of the things he did not miss being a Teryn. She was going to need all the patience she has and lack of sleep could diminish it. Dropping the subject, he walked towards the door. "Good night then Commander."

Due to the necessity of looking more like an Arlessa rather than a warrior, Elisa forced herself to wear the red silk dress with a griffon embroidered on the skirt – a gift from Fergus, which had an added note that said, 'I did say I'll nag you like how mother did, right? Well, this is one of those.' She smiled as she imagine him attempt to mimic their mother. 'Don't slouch dear. Hold your chin up. And please do try to be less blunt. I'd rather not hear from lady such and such that you called her a drunk again even though she already had a half barrel of wine.' _Mother…_ The thought made heart ache.

Just as she had finished preparing, she heard a knock on her office door. "Enter," she called out while placing the books on her desks back to their respective bookshelves. Varel and Loghain entered, both looking uneasy. Well, more like the seneschal was; the taciturn warrior's expression shifted to something she couldn't seem to point out. Whatever it was, she ignored it and focused on Varel instead. "Is something wrong? Have the nobles arrived?"

"No, not yet," Varel replied, "just one." Her brows arched as he continued. "She said that she has an urgent matter she needs to discuss with you before the other arrive."

"What about?" She asked.

"A plot about the nobles conspiring against you," Loghain replied, "its details, she would not discuss further out in the open."

Her face remained neutral as though indifferent to the consequence of such conspiracy, yet her mind was troubled. "Who is she?"

"Her name is Ser Tamra, Commander," Varel replied, "a young noble. There isn't much to say about her but I assure you that she was never one of Howe's confederates."

She looked over to her Second. "Do you think she can be trusted?" She waited as he pondered with knitted brows. "I've never heard of her name before. She's most likely new in this whole affair." After moments of consideration, she turned her attention to her seneschal. "bring her in."

With a nod, Varel left and, minutes later, returned with a nervous young woman behind him. Elisa moved from behind her desk and smiled slightly to the noblewoman to calm the latter's nerves. Varel stood in front of the door as he closed it while Loghain stood beside his Commander while his icy blue eyes watched their guest warily. "Warden-Commander," Tamra said as she bowed lightly, keeping her focus on the new Arlessa rather than the man next to her, so as to keep herself less anxious, "it is an honor to meet you."

"A pleasure to meet you as well Ser Tamra," Elisa replied as her hand gestured towards a chair. As the other woman sat down, Elisa went over to her own chair. Leaning forward, she placed her elbows on the table with her fingers intertwined. "Varel told me that you have important matters to discuss with me."

Tamra exhaled shakily as she gave a small nod. "Some nobles, those whose fortunes were deeply connected with the old Arl, seek to end your dominion over them."

"That's a serious accusation Ser Tamra." Elisa looked at the other woman, her lips curling down into a deep frown, "do you have any proof?"

"I've been able to intercept some of their missives." Tamra's fingers began to fidget. "They are cryptic, and any individual message is unintelligible, but together they form a pattern." Their eyes met when the noblewoman looked at her and stated, "they mean to end you before you can begin."

Elisa held back her urge to snort. "I suppose I should be flattered that they're trying less crude methods this time…"

The noblewoman's brows furrowed. "I would take this seriously Commander. They know your capabilities and they're spending a great fortune to see their aims fulfilled."

Leaning back on her chair, Elisa asked, "so where are these missives then?"

Ser Tamra lowered her head. "I-I would have brought them today, but I feared for my life if any of them found out."

"That's a rather convenient excuse," Loghain suddenly spoke as he crossed his arms and his eyes narrowed. "How can we trust you? For all we know, you could be part of the conspiracy and feeding us now with false information."

"I'm sure you're aware that the punishment for treason is death," Varel added as Tamra turned her head towards him.

"I am not lying," she insisted as she directly looked at each of them in the eye. "I have so much to lose and little to gain," With her gaze stopping towards the Warden-Commander, she added, "give me a few days and I will have the messages. I swear to the Maker."

Elisa watched her intently for a moment before she asked, "what else do you know?"

Ser Tamra shook her head. "Nothing else, Commander. I am new to the nobility and have very little connections with any of them. All I know is that some are still loyal to the former Arl."

"I see…" Elisa stood up with the other woman following suit. "Thank you for the information."

The noblewoman nodded, "Now, I need to hurry before any of the other nobles see me." She gave a light bow and added, "Maker watch over you, Commander."

"And you as well." And with that, Varel stepped aside to allow Ser Tamra to leave. Once the door shut, Elisa sat back down on her chair and sighed heavily. "So, what are my options?

"I can't say I fully trust this Ser Tamra," Loghain voiced out his opinion, "then again, a conspiracy against you is very much possible. Perhaps we should increase the guards around the Keep."

She raised a brow as she glanced up at Loghain. "Do you think they'll make a move this soon?"

"We can't be certain, but we can't take chance either," her Second replied.

She paused for a moment as she pondered before turning her gaze towards Varel. "If we have the guards spy on them, what are their odds of success?"

"I wouldn't recommend it," Varel admitted, "good men, lousy spies."

She let out another deep sigh, wishing Leliana or Zevran or both are around. Hearing Loghain telling Varel to instruct Captain Garavel to increase the guard, she suddenly stated, "don't." Both men looked at her incredulously as she stood up and continued. "We have to make it appear as though we are ignorant of such rumors. It'll be more difficult to unearth the conspirators if we show them that we know that they're planning something."

"So we just wait until one of them stabs you in the back?" Loghain scoffed. "Excellent plan."

She scowled as she crossed her arms. "What other options do we have?"

"We could try 'inviting' a member of each of the noble family to stay here at the Keep as… prolonged guests," Varel suggested with a deep frown that says he isn't inclined to that idea – a feeling her Second seemed to share as she heard him grumbled, "how very Orlesian."

"No, let's not…" She waved her hand to dismiss the idea. "It will cause more trouble with nobles in the long run. Our only option for now is to wait for them to make the first move."

The sound of a light knock caused the three to look towards the door. A voice of one of the servants announced that some of the Banns had just arrived. Letting out deep sigh, Elisa looked towards Loghain and asked, "sure you won't join me in the throne room?"

He snorted. "I had enough of such ceremonies in my lifetime. However, I will be close enough in case something unpleasant does happen."

"Very well. I shall see you later." With a small nod, she left her office with her seneschal and the two made their way to the throne room.

As soon as the ceremony had ended, Elisa ordered one of the servants to inform all the Wardens to meet her at the stables before she hurried back to her quarters. Once she changed into her leather armor, she took her daggers bow and quiver from the weapon rack before making her way down to the Keep's grounds with Caena walking beside her.

Outside, she noticed Anders stopping in front of Andraste's statue and heard him wolf-whistle. "Anders," she called out as she approached him.

The blonde mage turned his attention towards her and grinned. "Hey Commander." He looked back at Andraste and once she stood beside him, he asked, "was Andraste that much of a looker? Don't you think she would have been, I dunno… a barbarian?"

She stared at Andraste as well and she had to admit, the Chantry probably had exaggerated their portrayal. "I suppose the Chantry finds it easy to attract more male believers if she looks less barbaric"

He chuckled. "But she was a real person once… up until she married the Maker." She stared at him as he suddenly became silent and deep in thought. "What would she have thought of the Circle of Magi? Forcing mages to fight demons or be made tranquil…"

She shrugged. "Probably be confused by it. Or at least, I don't think she had intended on collaring mages just for being… well, a mage."

"A lady after my own heart." He grinned broadly at her statement. She raised a brow and was about to say something but suddenly, her mabari started barking then run off. "Caena!" She quickly followed her dog with Anders behind her. When they reached a dead end, Caena stopped and just continued to bark. "Calm down boy," she ordered as she placed a hand on its back.

Anders moved beside his Commander, wondering what the mabari was barking at. He then noticed a frightened little cat against the wall. "Oh look at the cute little kitty!" He began to slowly approacher the cat.

"It might scratch you." Elisa warned as she calmed down Caena, though such warning was unnecessary since the mage seemed to have calmed down the cat as well. As Anders hand gently stroked its fur, he commented, "he looks like Mr. Wiggums."

Her brow arched up at the cat's ridiculous name. "You had a cat named Mr. Wiggums?"

As he picked up the cat and she stood up straight, he replied, "he's not actually my cat. He was a mouser back at the tower." He sighed as he remembered his fond memory of the cat. "There were days when that cat was the person I saw – expect he wasn't a person…" He glanced down at the cat that snuggled comfortably in his arms. His head turned towards her and asked, "can I keep him?"

The pout he was giving reminded Elisa of a similar pout Alistair made, and for a brief moment she wondered if these two were related in some way. An amusing thought but she set it aside as she looked at the cat. "A mouser might come in handy," she mused and nodded, "why not? He does seem rather attached to you already."

He smiled brightly to her before he held up the cat. "Oh, and I have the perfect name! From now on, you're Ser Pounce-a-lot!" The kitty meowed, perhaps out of approval or perhaps out of dismay.

Elisa's eyebrows shot up as she looked at Anders. _Ser Pounce-a-lot?_ She then took note never to ask the mage to name anything for her. "Well, if you're going to keep him, better put him inside the Keep. We need to get going." Anders stared at Ser Pounce-a-lot who he believed stared back with pleading eyes that says 'don't leave me alone'. "Maybe he can come with us. We're just going to the city. He can stay in my pack."

Shaking her head, she replied, "fine. Let's just hurry. The others are probably waiting for us." With that, the two Wardens made their way to the stables.

End of Chapter 6


	7. Chapter 7

The trip to Amaranthine City went smoothly with the good weather and all. Elisa and Anders rode in the same horse when the latter bashfully admitted that he had never ridden a horse in his entire life, leaving Oghren to Nathaniel. The latter didn't complain, though she figured it was because he was in a hurry to reach the city. She would have asked Loghain but his massive armor plus the packs on his horse left little room even for someone as small as Oghren.

When they reached the stables, the archer got off of his horse and dropped the dwarf on the pile of hay, the latter waking up immediately and rolling off as he grumbled something incoherent. As the six of them stepped out of the stables, the blonde mage took a deep breath. "Can you smell that?" he said as he turned his attention to Elisa. "That is the smell of freedom!" He sniffed again and this time picked up something foul. "Well, there's the smell of dog and dirt, but the freedom is in there too."

Caena barked a protest but calmed as its mistress scratched its ears for a moment. "I think it's the pies, Anders," she pointed out when she picked up the scent of freshly baked pies.

"The fact that there are pies around is a step-up for me." Anders sighed as he walked with her and the rest of their group towards the city gates. "I had a pie-less existence, more or less."

She looked at him with an arched brow. "You never had a pie before?"

"Not even the old moldy ones, sadly." He gave a lopsided grin. "Why? Will you make me one?" Both Loghain who walked beside the Warden-Commander and Nathaniel who followed behind her let out a derisive snort. The former then stated, "I wouldn't eat anything she makes lest you want to be poisoned.", while the latter added, "cooking isn't one of her best skills." It earned them a sharp glare from the auburn-haired woman. The mage chuckled. "That terrible huh…"

"Nan kicks me out of the kitchen every time I insist on learning how to cook." She explained defensively. "She says I'll only end up making a mess." She glanced down at her hound and muttered, "well, Caena and I might, but she can't blame the dog for being a dog."

"Don't worry," Anders replied as his hand patted her shoulder, "I don't aim high in my life. All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." He paused and stared at her face. "And I think I'm closer to the dream than I imagined."

Elisa shook head before they were all halted by one of the city guards. "Excuse me. I need to search your packs for smuggled goods."

Loghain glared at the guard. "This is the Warden-Commander and Arlessa you're speaking to." He paused when his Commander held out a hand. "It's fine Loghain. The man is only doing his job." She held her pack out to the guard who began inspecting.

Suddenly, a voice called out behind the city guard. "What are you doing!?" Elisa noticed that the guard checking her pack stiffened and she figured that the man that called him was his superior. "Constable," the guard quickly turned around from her, "you said to check-"

"Are you accusing the Commander of smuggling goods?" The Constable glared sharply at his subordinate who stood stiffly and quickly replied, "n-no ser, but I-"

The Constable's eyes narrowed. "You are dismissed." Once the guard returned to his post, his superior turned his attention towards Elisa. "I'm Constable Aidan Commander, and I apologize for the search."

"No need for apologies Constable. It's good that the city guards are taking precautions." She spared the refugees outside the city. "Varel reports that the city has been having problems with smugglers."

Aidan nodded. "Yes, they've all but taken over the city."

She raised a brow. "And Bann Esmerelle is not doing anything?" When he shook his head, she scowled. _So that harpy is never going to make it easy for me… Fine, then she can say good-bye the soldiers she requested for the city._ "What do you know about the smugglers so far?"

"We know that they have a base of operations in the city," he replied, "though we don't know exactly where."

"The problem will be investigated immediately Constable."

"Thank you Commander. Luck be with you." He bowed before stepping aside as she and her group entered the city.

* * *

With so many things to deal with in the city, Elisa and Loghain decided to split the tasks. The latter took the task of finding the two hunters Captain Garavel said had reported about darkspawn sightings while the former together with the other Wardens took the task of meeting up with the Merchant's Guild and investigating in the Market District afterweards. Along the way, Oghren began complaining about a rash to his Commander. "You know, I bet it's that Grey Warden stuff we had to drink," he said accusingly.

"It doesn't cause rashes Oghren," she explained and sighed in exasperation. Turning to Anders, she requested, "please take him to the city's herbalist." The mage looked reluctant so she added, "this is an order."

Anders sighed. "Fine, but if I get infected by… whatever he has, I'm blaming you."

As the two Wardens left, a familiar female voice called out, "Nathaniel! Elisa!" Nathaniel quickly turned around, his eyes widening as a dark-haired woman flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "I'm so glad you alive brother!"

Recovering for the shock, Nathaniel hugged her back. "Delilah! I feared you were dead."

Once they released each other from the tight hug, Delilah looked over to Elisa before hugging her, the latter standing there stiffly."It's good to see you're well and alive. I heard what happened in Highever. I thought father's evil might have-"

"Father's evil?" Nathaniel stared at his sister in confusion as she let go of Elisa and looked at her brother. "Isn't that overstating things a little sister?"

"You didn't see what he did Nathaniel." She closed her eyes for a moment as she took a deep breath. When she opened them, her expression was hard as her lips curled down into a deep frown. "You want to know the culprit who destroyed our family. It was father without question."

He shook his head as he tried to process everything his sister was telling him. "I can't believe…"

Sighing heavily, she mumbled, "of course you can't. You've always worshipped father ever since you were a little boy." She placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Come brother, I'll tell you more about it." She glanced towards Elisa who sensed the invitation.

Waving her hand, she declined. "I suspect you have a lot of catching up to do." Facing Nathaniel, she added, "I'll meet you back at the inn later." She nodded to Delilah and smiled. "It was good to see you again Delilah." Before, the other woman could protest, she continued making her way to the Merchant's Guild with her mabari.

* * *

When Loghain reached the Market District, he was surprised to find just the Warden-Commander browsing swords displayed in one of the stalls with Caena. Just as he stood behind her, she asked, "did you find the hunters?"

"I have," he replied as he moved beside her when she picked up one blade and raised it up while staring at it intently. The shape of the sword says that it was made by a dwarven smith and with how the blade reflects its surroundings; one could assume that it was made by one of the finest smiths in Orzammar. He suddenly remembered that time Vigil's Keep was attacked. "You're quite skilled with the blade – perhaps skilled enough that you might have beaten me if we had the duel during the Landsmeet rather than having the Qunari as your Champion."

"_Might_?"She snorted as she placed the blade back down. "If I had, you'd be dead now."

He crossed his arms. "If you're so confident with swordplay, then why use a bow?" He stared at her as she remained silent, no doubt in his mind that she was waiting for him to just drop the topic. However, he knew that if she was being this elusive, there must be something to it. "Well?" he persisted.

She sighed heavily. "I just want to stay at the back so that I can see the entire battle, and thus, easier for me to direct orders." She added with a shrug. "Plus, I hate getting darkspawn blood all over my armor."

"Bullshit."

That single word the taciturn warrior stated made her brows shot up. "Such language Loghain! And in public no less! What would the others think of Wardens?" She scolded while shaking her head though her teeth bit her lower lip to restrain herself from giggling in amusement.

"Trying to change the subject again? How typical of you Commander…" He scoffed and was about to press on the question once more but he noticed that her gaze was on something or someone else behind him. He was about to turn around but she whispered, "don't move. Just keep talking."

His brows furrowed as he stared at her in confusion. "What are you-"

"Would you like us to duel then?" she suddenly asked, making her Second even more confused by the random question. She mouthed, 'play along' and so he did what he was told. Plus, he was curious as to how truly good she was with a sword. He could use this conversation later on so she wouldn't back out.

"I would advise you to wear a full armor," he replied, "I'd rather not have the entire nation and Wardens accusing me of killing the Hero of Ferelden."

She smirked though her gaze was still focused on whatever or whoever she was looking at. "Unless you're the Archdemon, you need not worry about killing me, or causing any injury on my person."

"Arrogant-"

"This way," she muttered as she moved past him with Caena briskly walking beside its master. He followed and noticed that she was following someone not far away. His head turned towards his Commander as she hastened her pace. Side-glancing towards him, she muttered, "smugglers."

They continued to follow the shady man Elisa suspected as part of the smugglers until she suddenly noticed that he was leading them around the city. However, she only noticed it too late when they were led to a secluded alley. Several brutish men appeared from the only exit, causing them to be sandwiched between their enemies and the wall.

Loghain had his sword and shield at the ready while Caena positioned to tackle anyone who attacks his mistress. Elisa eyed at each one warily as they began to move closer. She slowly took the Acid Flask from one of her belt's pouches before throwing it towards them. The brutes began to cough, prompting Caena to lunge forward and attack one of them. Loghain made quick work on them, however, more of their men arrived and advanced towards their small group. Elisa had her back almost pressed against the wall as she continued to aim arrows at the growing number of enemies.

"Son of a-" She paused as her eyes suddenly widened as she felt a familiar presence not so far away. She frantically looked around, and from the distance she noticed a faint glowing light and hands waving up in the air. "Loghain! Caena!" she called out. "Fallback!"

Both man and mabari retreated, and just as they moved beside her, a large ball of flame landed and exploded on the area where the enemies stood, causing some to be knocked back with their bodies beginning to burn. Those who were lucky to evade were cleaved by a red-haired dwarf's giant axe.

"Causing trouble without us, eh Commander?" Oghren said once he reached her by hacking and slashing his way through the smugglers that still had the guts to fight them.

She grinned slightly. "Thanks for the reinforcement. I suppose I should let you have all the alcohol you want tonight."

"You bet your tiny arse you should!" he replied before chasing the remaining enemies that began to scramble away, ignoring his Commander's protest about the size of her butt. Using a paralysis spell, Anders caught one – a man with a slightly thin build – making the dwarf grumble, "just got lucky."

The mage gave him a smug grin before approaching Elisa and winked. "And don't listen to him. Your arse looks just right Commander."

"How did you know where to find us?" she asked as she shouldered her bow.

"Just followed the sounds of battle..." Anders shrugged. "We've been looking for you for a while now actually… went to the market district but the merchants there said you left." He grinned. "Good thing you saw me. I've been trying to find the perfect timing to throw my fireball."

"It was fortunate then that I had a clear view of my surroundings from where I was positioned." She looked over to Loghain and gave a brief smug grin, making the latter grumble 'humph'. Whatever her statement meant, Anders ignored it, assuming that it was probably a private joke between the two.

The Wardens then approached the captured smuggler, and as the mage dispelled the paralysis, Loghain grabbed the collar of their captive's tunic and lifted the poor bugger off the ground. The latter squirmed in fear as icy blue eyes glared at him sharply.

"Let's keep this simple," Elisa began as she stood beside Loghain and gave the smuggler a deadpanned look, "tell us where the your base of operation is, and we might just let you live."

"I… I-I dunno anything, I swear!" The man stammered as he continued to squirm. From below him, Carena growled, its teeth bared for everyone to see.

"Then I suppose your only use now is to be my hound's next meal," she replied as her head turned towards her Second, "Loghain."

The smuggler's eyes widened and quickly gripped his captor's wrist before the hand released him. "No! Wait! I'll tell you all I know! Just please spare me milady!"

"Quickly then," Elisa ordered, "who knows how long he can hold you up."

The smuggler gulped and hastily replied, "o-our base is located under the abandoned house just outside of the city. I-it's always locked, b-but… but I have a key!"

Elisa eyed the man skeptically before ordering her Second. "Release him." The latter was reluctant but when his Commander repeated the order, he followed. The smuggler landed on the ground with a thud then tried to stand up quickly so he could make a run for it. However, before he could move an inch, a fist suddenly hit him square in the jaw, immediately knocking him unconscious.

All eyes were on their Warden-Commander who merely shrugged. "I said I'll let him live but I didn't say I won't knock him out. Anders, put a sleeping spell on him, long enough for him to nap for three or four hours." She took the key from the unconscious man's pockets then began making her way out of the alley.

* * *

Nathaniel surveyed the room as he entered the inn. He had expected to see the dwarf already drinking in one corner, but none of them seemed to have arrived yet. _Where are they?_ He had hoped to discuss matters about his father to Loghain and Elisa – Maker, especially Elisa!

Passing through the crowd of drunken patrons, he made his way to the innkeeper. He was about to ask if any Wardens had arrived yet but paused when he overheard two men passing by murmured something like "Tell boss" and "Warden-Commander". He watched them warily in the corner of his eye, as the duo went further in to where the rooms were located. He considered ignoring it but he felt a faint tingling sensation is his blood, like something was pulling him towards the direction where the two suspicious men were headed. _Is this what Elisa meant by sensing other Grey Wardens?_ He had to make sure.

"Something you need?" He overheard the innkeeper asked him. Taking out a small pouch of coin, he handed it over to the innkeeper and muttered, "one room." When the latter took out a key, he immediately snatched it before quickly following where the two men were headed.

As he hid in the shadows, he watched them enter what seemed to be a storage room. Carefully, he moved closer then narrowed his eyes when the two disappeared between the stacked barrels. He glanced around to make sure no one else was around then entered the storage room where he found a locked trap door behind the barrels. Taking out his tools for lockpicking, he began working on with the locks and, once he heard a 'click' sound, he opened the trap door and cautiously entered the hidden room.

Clashing metals echoed as Nathaniel hid himself in the shadows and slowly and carefully approached the area where the sounds were coming from. Oghren's war cry confirmed that these men were indeed fighting the Wardens. Elisa came to view when he saw her running around to either throw grenades at pursuing enemies, or, when the opportunity arises, shoot arrows at those attacking either warriors from their sides – a fighting style he did not expect from a woman he had known to prefer a more direct approach.

As he readied his bow to aim at a brutish man holding a greatsword rushing towards the Commander, he saw the blonde mage moved beside her and casted a spell that inscribed a glyph on the area where he and Elisa stood, causing the man to suddenly be knocked back just as she shot two arrows on his chest.

Another thug rushed towards the two from the side, and Elisa was ready to fire another arrow while the mage was focus on casting rejuvenating spells on both Loghain and Oghren but another arrow beat her to as it pierced through the attacker's skull. Grinning slightly, she called out, "is showing up out of nowhere a skill you learned in the Free Marches, Nathaniel?"

"Nathaniel?" Anders blinked as he glanced around then noticed the dark-haired archer stepping out of the shadows, and firing another arrow at the leg of the last enemy before Loghain ran the latter through with his blade.

"That, and more, my lady," Nathaniel replied as he shouldered his bow, the last phrase was unintentional, and it sounded odd as it rolled out of his tongue. It had been years since he called her that and their unpleasant reunion after so after almost a decade did not help either. The way it was awkwardly spoken out was no doubt too obvious as it made his Commander snort. _She probably took it as an insult_, he thought but brushed it off.

"How did you get here anyway?" she asked after ordering the other Wardens to check the crates.

"From the inn," he replied as his finger pointed to where he entered, "a secret passage in the storage room." He shifted his attention to the dead bodies on the ground and recognized to of them as the men he spotted in the inn. "I overheard those two muttering about the Warden-Commander."

She rubbed her chin while staring towards the other entryway. "So that's how they're getting past the guards. We should inform the Constable about this and have it sealed." Moving towards the desk in the corner of the room, she examined the parchments there. Her brows furrowed while scanning them before her hand beckoned Nathaniel and Loghain, who had just finished inspecting the crates containing dried food, to come over. "Can either of you translate Orlesian?" she asked as she showed them the documents.

Both men took a parchment from her before scanning them. Loghain knew a few Orlesian words but mostly were insults thrown at Fereldens during the war; and, unfortunately, none of such were written on the page he was holding. All he recognized were the numbers beside the words. Nathaniel, having been able to mingle with Orlesian nobles during his time in the Free Marches, was fluent enough in the language to understand what was written. As his eyes skimmed through the document, his brows furrowed. "They're not just smuggling basic commodities. They're also smuggling weapons, armors and…" He stared at a particular word, and tried to remember where he heard it before.

Elisa leaned closer to him as she stared at the parchment he held, particularly curious about what he was looking at. "And what?"

"_Le Miel Amer…_" As Nathaniel muttered those words, Loghain suddenly cursed audibly, his teeth gritting as he paced around. "Why the bloody hell are they smuggling those damnable poison!"

Elisa raised a brow as she turned her attention to her Second then looked back to Nathaniel when he suddenly remembered the name. "Bitter honey," she heard him mutter with a deep frown. "It's a poison used by Orlesian nobles for their 'Grand Game'." His feet shifted uneasily from where they stood. "I've personally seen its effects on an unfortunate noble attending a party of the De Launcets in Kirkwall. It was... unsettling."

Loghain snorted. "Unsettling is an understatement."

Elisa grimaced, wondering if this could possibly have any connection on the plot against her. "Search the crates for these supplies," she ordered before she returned to the desk and gathered all the records and documents there. The Wardens did so but, unfortunately, the supplies were no longer there.

End of Chapter 7


	8. Chapter 8

After informing Constable Aidan that they have dealt with the smugglers and pointed him to where their den was located, the Wardens made their way back to the inn. The rays of sunlight had already faded when they reached the inn. Elisa paid the innkeeper for additional four rooms and some more for Oghren's unlimited supply of ale for the night – something the red-haired dwarf immediately took advantage of as he got a tankard of ale before going over to the far corner of the room. She glanced over to Anders who hastily busied himself between two barmaids who seemed very much charmed by the mage and his adorable cat, Ser Pounce-a-lot.

Loghain stood beside her, no doubt itching to discuss matters regarding what they found out in the smugglers' den earlier. However, he was halted by Nathaniel who placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "May I speak with you, Warden Loghain?" The taciturn warrior looked at the archer with a raised brow.

"Go ahead," Elisa stated as her hand gestured a dismissing wave, "just head over to my room when you're done." Moving past the two men, she made her way to her room and left the two men alone.

They sat down to the table far from the other patrons of the inn. For a moment there was an awkward silence except for the barmaid who passed by and placed two tankards of ale on their table. Finally, Nathaniel started, "I… I want to know the entire story, about the Blight, the civil war… about my father."

Loghain leaned back against his chair, his entire features neutral. "Are you certain about this?" He waited for the younger man to give him a nod before he began, "before heading to Ostagar, I asked him to talk some sense out of Bryce about his recent dealings with the Orlesians. While waiting for him and Rendon with his armies, I heard from Cailan that a young lady had arrived with Duncan, demanding justice for the slaughter of her entire family. That was when I learned of the massacre of the Couslands."

"And yet you still trusted him?" Nathaniel stared at him in disbelief.

"When I returned to Denerim, Rendon offered his services when it comes to political matters. I demanded answers about the Couslands and he claimed that after he had spoken to Bryce, the latter ordered his remaining men to attack him and his soldiers." Loghain scoffed, one which was more directed to his own foolishness than the Warden across him. "Trust is an overstatement for I had doubts of his excuse enough that I had planned to have an investigation of the massacre after the Blight has been dealt with. For that time, however, I needed to rely on his political mind, and thus, delegated certain matters to him I while dealt with securing our borders." _A foolish mistake_, he thought with a deep scowl.

Silence fell upon the two men once more as Nathaniel absorbed all the information the former teryn had relayed to him. Loghain could still see the disbelief in the young Howe's eyes, so he added, "the Commander's right." Nathaniel glanced up to the older Warden who continued, "Rendon Howe was a greedy ambitious traitor who would not settle for anything less than everything."

That was all Nathaniel needed to hear from Loghain. Standing up, he excused himself before heading out of the inn. Loghain merely watched him leave, assuming the boy wanted some time alone. After finishing is mug of ale, he stood up and walked towards the Warden-Commander's room.

* * *

"Come on~ you know you want to~" Anders cooed as he held his cat in front of Elisa who sat beside him on the sofa near the fireplace of her room. "Just snuggle Ser Pounce-a-lot for a bit." The cat meowed as its large eyes stared at her. It was cute, Elisa had to admit, almost too tempting that she might succumb to Anders' plea at any moment.

Caena who was resting on the floor in front of its mistress, looked up and growled at the cat. Elisa soothed her mabari's anger by lightly rubbing its back with her foot. "If I do that Anders, Caena here might rip Ser Pounce-a-lot into shreds out of jealousy." She heard the mage gasped as he immediately hugged the cat close to his chest. "And you're going allow that!?"

"I can't say I would be able to stop him if it comes to that. As I said, my hound's the jealous type."

The sound of knocking made both Wardens turn their heads towards the door. Elisa made her way over to the door and opened it for Loghain who immediately entered the room. "Where's Nathaniel?"

"Went out for a walk," Loghain replied curtly as he looked over to the blonde made.

"Oh, are you two going to… Should I leave now?" The twinkle in Anders' eyes and wide grin told the two other Wardens enough what he was thinking. Maker, the mage probably has an entire story written in his head!

Elisa sighed as she massaged the bridge of her nose. "No Anders, he is not going to, as you had said earlier,_ 'invade my borders_'." The last words were spoken with her fingers air-quoting. For a moment, Loghain had a mortified look but quickly masked it with his usual stony expression and icy glare. "Do I even want to know?" he muttered.

Anders continued his laughter as his Commander escorted, if one would call pushing, him out of her room. "Make sure Oghren doesn't cause trouble with the patrons and go find those barmaids or something afterwards," she ordered before slamming the door shut. She sighed once more before setting herself back down on the sofa. _If Zevran was here, those two would definitely get along well._

She glanced down on Caena who rolled over on its back, begging either its mistress or her guest for a good belly-rub. She smiled slightly. Even if Anders' cat was adorable, it could never top her mabari. As her foot proceeded with rubbing its belly, she looked up to Loghain who began examining the ledger she took from the smugglers' den. The ones on the ledger weren't thankfully written in Orlesian. His eyes stopped at the name of the Orlesian poison. Beside it were the dates and quantity of each item.

Elisa watched a deep frown formed on his lips. "What is it?" she asked as her hand beckoned him to sit beside her so that she could examine the ledger as well. As he sat down, his finger pointed at the numbers beside the word '_Le Miel Amer_'. "Three crates were delivered just two days ago. No names were mentioned but it's highly possible that the conspirators might have ordered this. This kind of poison isn't exactly cheap and easy to make."

Leaning closer to stare at where his finger was pointing, she muttered, "perhaps it's just coincidence?"

He snorted. "If that's coincidence, then I'll scrub the floors of the entire Keep myself."

"Oh, I'd like to see that." She gave a slight grin though he responded by an annoyed look. Sighing, her body moved away from his. "I'll worry about such matters once we're back at the Keep."

"You're rather relaxed for someone who has people wanting you dead," he commented as she took the ledger from his hands.

"No surprise there." She shrugged. "Everyone wants me dead." Walking to where her pack was, she placed the ledger. "Anyway, let's drop this for now. We'll be leaving early tomorrow so best we get some early rest." She went over to the door and opened it. Just as he stepped outside, she added, "and tell that to the others as well."

With a nod, Loghain went to where Anders and Oghren were. Nathaniel had just returned then and informed the three about the Warden-Commander's order before heading to his room.

* * *

The next day, Elisa woke up just as the sun began to rise. After changing from her night clothes to her leather armor, she went out of her room and left a message to the innkeeper to tell the other Wardens to meet her outside of the Chantry before she left to check if those items she had ordered yesterday. The merchants were just opening the shops when she got there and they told her that they would have it ready in an hour.

Assuming that the others were already at their meeting place, she decided to come back for the goods with the other Wardens. No doubt she would need extra hands to carry all of the items she ordered. As she was making her way up the stairs leading to the Chantry, she saw only Nathaniel there staring up at the statue of Andraste. She couldn't help but grin slightly at the déjà vu. "_I wonder_," she began as a way to make her presence known while she walked towards him, "_was Andraste really that much of a looker?_ Is that what you're wondering?"

Nathaniel scoffed. "That sounds like something Anders would say."

"That was actually something Anders had said yesterday," she replied once she stood beside him, "I just thought that most – if not all – men think like that."

"Then I suppose I'm not like most men, fortunately," he muttered as he focused back on the statue, "there used to be a monument here of Byron Howe, my great-uncle. He died during the rebellion while helping King Maric reclaim his throne." He sighed heavily. "And it's gone now... all because of what my father did."

"I could have them replace it if you want," she offered.

Nathaniel thought that she was mocking him but when he saw her foot beginning to move back down the stairs, he stopped her. "Don't bother. No one here will want to see it."

She paused and turned to him with her brow arched up, though when he said nothing, she returned to his side. "There's a long line of heroes in my family," he mumbled as his gaze shifted towards the city. "But now… it's all lost." His lips curled down into a deep scowl as his fists clenched tightly. "Curse my father and his ambitions!"

"Then turn it around."

His head immediately turned towards her, his eyes meeting hers which looked at him fiercely as she continued, "do something to regain your family's honor rather than just complaining about it." He held her gaze, and for a moment, he thought he saw the old Elisa.

She quickly looked away, her expression returning to its usual passiveness. "How is Delilah?"

"She doing well," he replied, unable to hold back a smile, "she married a merchant named Albert. She's due in the spring." He noticed the corners of her lips twitched up as she muttered, "that's good to hear." Suddenly, sounds of footsteps and clinking metal could be heard approaching towards them.

"Took you three long enough," Elisa commented then raised a brow when she noticed Anders was walking strangely. "What happened?"

"The mage here had too much ale last night," Loghain explained before Oghren added, "had to kick him in the stones to wake him up." It earned the latter a sharp glare from Anders. "You could've just poured some cold water on me."

"Man up sparkle-fingers!" Oghren snarled.

Before the two could get into any heated argument, Elisa stepped between them. "Enough! Both of you!" She gave the two a stern glare before she gave the orders, "Loghain, Oghren, Nathaniel, head over to the Market District and pick up these items I've ordered for the Keep. Anders and I will meet you at the stables." She handed Loghain a folded parchment containing the list of things needed to be restocked at the Keep. Then, when the three left, she turned her attention to Anders with her brows knitted together. "Anders, you… just sit there or something… 'til the pain subsides. I'll be in the Chantry for a bit."

"Praying for my swift recovery?" He quipped as he carefully sat down on the nearby bench. "I'm touched but there's no need Commander. I'll be back to normal after a few minutes of not moving."

She rolled her eyes. "Sorry to disappoint but I am not the praying sort. This is more of a… courtesy call to the Revered Mother." She took out a pouch of coin and tossed it up lightly as she added, "I'm sure she would appreciate an … offering from the Grey Wardens. No doubt they had received the news about a certain apostate escaping their so-called 'justice', and this might… ease their anxiousness."

The mage paused for a moment, and when he finally picked up what she meant, he grinned. "You won't take that from my allowance would you?"

"I'll think about it," Elisa replied while trying to suppress an amused smile as she entered the Chantry.

* * *

When they arrived back at the Keep, Elisa let Anders, Nathaniel and Oghren return to the quarters to rest. She and Loghain, on the other hand, first went over to where Wade to check if he had finished making the armors she had commissioned.

"As always, your masterpiece looks impressive." Elisa's fingers smoothly glided around the dark massive armor made for specifically for Loghain, her fingers stopping at the Grey Warden symbol on its breastplate. As her Second tried it on to see if any adjustments were needed, she gave Herren the rest of her payment then grinned to the meticulous smith.

"I call it garbage! If anyone asks who made it, don't tell them it's me." Wade turned back to his smelter. This made Elisa sigh deeply. If Wade continues to be unhappy, even with Herren's constant prodding, the former would end up making armors and weapons of poor quality, or even stop making anything at all!

"How about this," she offered in a barely audible voice so as not to attract Herren's attention, "when I find something suitable for your exceptional skills, I'll immediately bring them to you." She saw Wade turn around with hope gleaming in his eyes, so she raised her right hand and swore. "You have my word." Her grin widened when he gave in, though she stepped back and eyed Loghain in his new armor when Herren gave her and Wade a suspicious look.

"So, how is it?" she asked her Second once he had the whole set on.

He flexed his arms back and forth. It fitted him well, he would admit that, but, it still felt odd not wearing his old armor. "I like this armor better on you Loghain," he heard her comment as she rubbed her chin while eyeing him from head to toe, "it adds to your… dark and brooding persona." He scoffed as the corners of her lips twitched up.

"Warden-Commander!" Elisa turned around to face the man that called her out. She remembered him as one of Levi Dryden's relatives, Edan, she believed was his name. He was a lean man with black hair and bushy brows. He stopped in front of her and panted with his hands resting on his knees before he looked up and grinned. "Good to see you."

She smiled slightly as she shook his hand when he held one up. "Good to see you as well. What brings you to Vigil's Keep?" She stared at his wagon not far away from where they stood. "For trade I hope."

"Aye, part of it," Edan replied, following where the Warden-Commander was staring, "went to Highever a month ago. Thought you might be there. Met Teryn Cousland who said you left for Weisshaupt. Supplied his men with some weapons and armor for some time until I heard that Wardens from Orlais had arrived and you'd be leading them." He suddenly remembered something and hastily searched his pockets. "A letter from His Grace and the mage from Soldier's Peak." Two slightly wrinkled sealed envelopes were then handed to her. One had the Grey Warden seal while the other had the Cousland's.

Loghain raised a brow as he stared at the letter his Commander held. Fergus was more or less just sending his love and perhaps offer of assistance, but what about the blood mage, Avernus? The Warden-Commander rarely spoke of him other than that he was a blood mage and Grey Warden researching on the hidden powers of the Taint. He didn't care much what that mage was up to, until now when he noticed the brief troubled look on his Commander's face.

Sensing her Second's curious gaze on her missives, Elisa kept away from his prying eyes. "Thank you for delivering these." She smiled to Edan before handing him a few silvers. She let him set up his stall in the Keep and once he left, she turned her attention to Loghain. "If the armor's fitting is just right, then let's head inside. Varel's no doubt waiting for us and we still have 'those papers' to show him."

* * *

Varel sat on the chair in front of Elisa's desk while he examined the documents the Wardens found in the smuggler's den. Loghain stood beside the Warden-Commander who sat on her chair as they waited for her seneschal's opinion on the matter. "Knowing that such items are being smuggled into the arling troubles me," he mumbled more to himself as he set the ledger down on the table. "From the looks of the prices and quantity, I'd say someone with deep pockets could be involved." His brows furrowed as he wondered who among the Banns in Amaranthine could even have such wealth. Even with the combined wealth of all the Banns in Amaranthine, these would still be too expensive.

"Possibly someone from outside the arling," Loghain suggested, his lips curling into a scowl before turning his gaze to Elisa. With her eyes fixed on the documents on the table, she appeared to be in deep thought. The sound of her fingers drumming on the armrest of her chair echoed in the silent room as the two men waited for her response.

"With the smugglers' base already sealed, the conspirators would need to use other means to acquire their goods." She paused for a moment to think then ordered, "Varel, have soldiers patrol the trade route from the west and the ships from the docks," she finally stated as she straightened herself on her chair.

"And you think they wouldn't use other paths?" Loghain replied as he crossed his arms.

She shrugged. "They might, but by doing so, they would look more suspicious. Not to mention that darkspawns are still running amuck. I think they'll take their chances with soldiers. At least they can still bribe them if caught."

"What about on the east?" Varel asked, "the trade routes in the Wending Woods?"

"I've spoken to Mervis," she replied, "no one dares to travel using that route for fear of monsters attacking their caravans."

"While that could limit the conspirators' access to the arling" Varel explained, "it would also limit the goods coming from Denerim and southern Ferelden."

"But trade is good in the northern Ferelden, is it not?" Elisa's brow arched up. "And those from the Free Marches as well?"

He shook his head. "Usually, but Highever and the nearby villages there are still recovering both from the Blight and Howe's usurpation." The stories of the villagers and remaining survivors of the Highever massacre about how the former Arl of Amaranthine maltreated them made Elisa's blood boil. She had to calm her nerves lest she throws her anger at someone. She focused on her seneschal once more as he continued his explanation. "I suppose we can rely on the goods coming from abroad for a time being, though it will not be enough to compensate the loss."

Once more, she began drumming her fingers on the armrest, her brows knitting together. Maker, it was easier facing the Archdemon! She glanced over to Loghain who approached the wall where the map of Ferelden was posted. "We can trade with the merchants from Soldier's Peak," he suggested as his finger pointed at where the fortress was located.

She stared at him for a moment while her mind began to ponder. "The Drydens often ply their wares around Ferelden," she mused, "and, with the number of travelers they encounter, they could also be a good source for information." She glanced down on her table where the unread letter from Avernus was placed. _I need to see him as well._

"The chasm is along the way," Loghain informed as he returned to her side and took out his folded map of Amaranthine before showing her the area the hunters marked.

Snapping out of her brief contemplation, she looked at the marked location then told her seneschal, "Varel, call the other Wardens. Tell them, we have important matters to discuss."

End Chapter 8


	9. Chapter 9

Before the sun began to rise, Elisa had already woken up and checked her pack to make sure that she didn't forget anything. Today, as she had informed the Wardens during their meeting yesterday, they were heading to Knotwood Hills to investigate the chasm where strange darkspawn apparently are gathering, or so the hunters claim. After all, if darkspawn are ignoring two screaming injured men, then they _must_ be strange. Latterly, they will travel to Soldier's Peak to speak to Levi. _And Avernus_, she added mentally. She considered visiting Highever, but decided against it when she realized Nathaniel was coming along. Leaving him behind was no option either, lest Loghain accuse her of 'coddling the boy' again.

As she made her way down to the apothecary, she felt a familiar presence. At first, she thought it was Loghain, but as she stopped in front of the door, she realized that it was Nathaniel she was sensing. Opening the door as slowly and quietly as she could, she peeked inside and saw him collecting some poisons from the shelves. He paused and turned around to face her.

She nodded to him and greeted, "good morning Nathaniel."

"Morning, Commander," he replied, giving a curt nod before his attention returned to the poisons on the shelves. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed her move beside him before she examined the vials on the shelves. As she began picking a few and placing it inside the pouches of her satchel, he raised a brow unable to hold himself back from making a comment. "I thought you disliked the use of poisons."

"I did," she replied briefly before moving the next shelf containing flasks of fire bombs and the like.

He waited for her to continue but when she said nothing else after that, he asked, "What made you change your opinion about them?"

She remained silent as she collected more of the grenades. When it seemed like he wasn't planning on dropping the topic, she replied, "A Crow."

_A crow?_ Nathaniel continued to stare at her with furrowed brows, hoping to read her; yet, she gave nothing away. "That's rather vague."

"Antiva has a lot of those." She went to another shelf, this time, one filled with poultices.

"You travelled with an Antivan Crow?"

"One who tried to kill me, yes," she replied casually as she continued to take more poultices from the shelf, "also a Qunari, a Golem and the Witch of the Wilds – well, more like her daughter but she's also given the same name so…" She turned to face him and grinned slightly at the incredulous look he gave her. "Go ask Oghren if you don't believe a word I say."

He snorted. "And I suppose the story about you sleeping with a pirate and three nugs is true as well."

"The pirate, yes, though I don't recall her and I having nugs on the bed. A templar probably… or was it a bard," she replied without the slightest hesitance as she picked up her pack and looked at him once more, noticing the widened eyes and slightly flushed cheeks. She had to cover her mouth to stifle her laughter. "I'm sorry. It's just that people had asked me that question so many times that I always wondered how one would react if I answered differently."

Nathaniel tried to look furious, but couldn't help himself from cracking a smile at the sight of her filled with mirth. It was a refreshing change from that serious leader she portrays to everyone. "You are an evil woman, Elisa."

"I know." Her laughter gradually subsided, clearing her throat once her face reverted back to her usual neutral expression. "Anyway, the others are probably waiting." She picked up her pack before striding towards the door.

As she turned the knob, he grasped her arm to halt her. "Elisa, what my father did… to you and your family… I…" He whispered, his voice breaking slightly, "I'm sorry." He dropped his head, his eyes downcast, yet, he reluctantly glanced up when he felt her turn around.

"It wasn't your fault. You are not to blame, Nathaniel." She placed her hand on top of his. "There's no need to apologize." She smiled softly to him before turning around once his grip on her forearm loosened. "Now, let's go."

He nodded as he allowed her to go ahead before he picked up his pack and followed. With all the weight of the bitterness and anger now gone, perhaps he could finally start anew with his life as a Warden.

* * *

Loghain stood outside the stables with their horses when Elisa and Nathaniel arrived. Oghren and Anders were already there as well, the mage trying to ride a horse on his own. His first try didn't look successful as he had his arms around the horse's neck while almost falling off of it. Loghain swore that it was like watching Maric all over again.

Elisa shook her head as she went over to Anders and helped him position himself properly on the horse before she joined him afterwards. The look Loghain gave her was disapproving but she merely shrugged. They couldn't just leave a healer behind after all.

She saw her seneschal approach their group just as everyone was settled on their horses. "I'll leave the Keep to your capable hands, Varel. We'll be back in two weeks at most." Elisa stated. "Update me with the investigation when we return."

Varel nodded. "I will, Commander. Maker watch over you." With that, he watched the Wardens ride off.

* * *

The landscape of the area leading to Knotwood Hills was dry and filled with dead twisted trees. Dusty wind whipped through the brambles, and the haunted feel made the horses uneasy. At least the constant petty arguing between the mage and the dwarf made things less unsettling for the group. When they reached the edge of the chasm, Elisa stopped her horse as she stared down.

Anders peeked from behind her and gulped. "That's… a long way down…"

"We'll have to go on foot from here," Elisa said as she got off her horse with the mage and the other Wardens following suit.

Loghain stood beside his Commander as he stared down the chasm. Even this far away, he could sense the darkspawn which meant that a lot them are gathered here.

"They feel different, don't they?" He heard her comment with a deep scowl. He nodded in response.

"What do you exactly feel, when you're sensing darkspawn?" Anders asked.

"It varies," Elisa explained, "some feel that sort of itch in their bones, others feel nauseous, though this depends on the number of darkspawn. Usually the nausea subsides over time."

Oghren snorted. "Pike-twirler vomited like there's no tomorrow when we got to the Dead Trenches."

"Pike-twirler?" Nathaniel and Anders asked simultaneously, staring at the dwarf with their brows raised.

Elisa sighed. "Don't mind him. Anyway, the most common is a tingling sensation in the blood."

"Nausea and itch, eh? Perfect! Just what I signed up for," Ander mumbled sarcastically.

She sighed but provided the mage no further explanation. There wasn't really anything to say to make it sound better. She led the group down the path but halted them when she spotted a bear-like creature with bony-spikes protruding through its skin.

"What is that?" Nathaniel murmured as he readied his bow.

"Bereskarn," both Elisa and Loghain replied, the former readying her bow as well while the latter unsheathed his blade.

"A what now?" Anders looked over to his Commander.

"Bears corrupted by the taint," Elisa explained as she drew her bow and aimed an arrow towards the blighted creature that began to stir. Once her arrow was released, Loghain and Oghren charged in and dispatched the beast quickly. Afterwards, she led them further down until they reached a set of old rickety stairs with wall supports around it.

"Looks like someone's attempting to reinforce the area," Loghain muttered, the presence of darkspawn feeling much stronger with each step they took.

"This leads to the Deep Roads, I think." Elisa turned her head towards Oghren. "Are there deshers recovering lost thaigs?" The dwarf merely shrugged in response.

Loghain was the first to test the stairs, carefully taking one step after another while his hands held onto the railings. The stairs swayed dangerously several times, but fortunately, he made it down safely. The others followed, though one at the time.

Once everyone reached the bottom, the two senior Wardens sensed a few darkspawn nearby. Three? Perhaps five? They weren't certain. It was fleeting, as though moving away from where they stood. As they rounded the corner, Elisa's eyes widened in horror at the sight of several Hurlocks dragging a female dwarf down below.

"Don't let them take her!" she ordered as she quickly shot arrows at the two darkspawn holding their captive's arms. Their prisoner took the distraction as an opportunity to free herself and scramble away, before pulling out her axe and blade. The warriors charged in while the archers stayed behind, the latter aiming at Hurlocks that tried to attack the former from behind. The mage continued his healing and other protection spells until the last of the darkspawn fell.

"Well… that was… close," the female dwarf mumbled after she exhaled deeply, "for a moment there, I thought I was about to join the Legion of the Dead."

Elisa approached her. "Are you alright?" Her hand beckoned Anders to come over to inspect the other woman's injuries.

The mage began prodding her side and the dwarf winced slightly as she replied, "Probably cracked a rib. It's hard to tell. Everything hurts."

Once Anders finished mending the broken bones and other wounds, Elisa continued with her questions. "Are you here with Kardol's group?"

The woman shook her head. "No, he's posted past Ortan Thaig-" She paused and looked at the taller woman with knitted brows. "Wait, you know him?"

"He's a friend, of sorts," Elisa replied, "we met him and the other Legionnaires in the Dead Trenches while searching for Paragon Branka." She glanced over to Oghren who didn't react. Perhaps the dwarf had moved on, or perhaps he was too drunk to care now. With his flask in hand, it was probably the latter.

The woman gasped as her eyes widened. "Ancestor's tits! You're the Hero of Ferelden! The Legion told stories about you. I have so many questions but…" She turned around and faced the entrance leading to the lower parts of the thaig. "I can't chat for long. Crazy as it sounds, but I need to go back down there."

"Back where?" Elisa asked with a raised brow.

The other woman faced her once more. "The old fortress of Kal'Hirol. There's something going on down there. I think the darkspawn are breeding an army."

"Breeding an army?" Loghain asked as he stood beside his Commander. "But there's no Blight."

"That's why the Legion went there to investigate." The female dwarf grimaced. "But, it proved too much for us. It was… a massacre." She sighed heavily. "I'm the only one left."

"How did you get away?" Nathaniel asked. "Darkspawn don't take prisoners… do they?" He glanced over to Elisa whose features suddenly became grim.

"When I saw them taking some of the women, I fled." The female dwarf avoided everyone's gaze as shame and fear filled her.

"The darkspawn are more merciful to men. Once a male ghoul loses his use, they kill him," Elisa explained to the rest of the Wardens, her lips turning to a deep scowl as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "But with women… Let's just say there are far worse fates than death." She turned her attention back to the dwarf, giving her an understanding nod before she stated, "we'll come with you."

The other woman blinked as she stared at Elisa. "Did I forget to mention that this is a suicide mission?"

"We're Grey Wardens," Elisa replied with a small grin, "killing darkspawn is what we do."

"Huh… the Ancestors must have a hand in this." The other woman grinned. "I'm Sigrun by the way."

"I am Commander Elisa." Elisa turned to her comrades. "These are Wardens Loghain, Anders, Nathaniel and Oghren."

Oghren moved beside to Sigrun and leaned closer. "So… you come here often?"

The other dwarf flinched away when her nostrils picked up his breath. "No, I've never been this close to the surface."

Elisa shook her head before she interrupted the red-haired drunk. "Let's go. We have much to do." She and Loghain began to make their way down the entrance of Kal'Hirol.

Oghren grinned to Sigrun. "Name's Oghren by the way… but the ladies call me Ohhh-ghren."

"More like, Ugh-ren," Anders muttered as he and Nathaniel moved past the red-haired dwarf, following Sigrun as she quickly moved in front the Warden-Commander and Loghain, leading them further down the Deep Roads.

* * *

The Deep Roads were what Elisa and Loghain remembered – oppressive and disgusting with the constant signs of corruption everywhere they turn. Anders was the first to give in to the intensifying nausea. Rushing to the nearest corner, he began vomiting on the floor.

"And there goes breakfast." He groaned before retching again a second later. "And lunch…"

Elisa watched the mage passively. "Well, at least you got that out of the way." She glanced over to the other Wardens. Oghren didn't have the slightest reaction, though he admitted that he was feeling something tingle, which she ignored since that statement was followed by a disturbing mental image when he began to flirt with Sigrun again. Nathaniel seemed to have a similar effect as Anders though he was much better in holding it back. "Just join Anders over there." She pointed to where the mage was. "You'd feel better once you get it out of your system."

Nathaniel cringed as he struggled to force it down. "I'm fine… Just give me a moment…"

"I thought Wardens go to the Deep Roads often. Shouldn't they be used to it by now?" Sigrun said as she moved beside Elisa.

The latter then replied, "They're new to the Order. They haven't been to the Deep Roads yet, except for Oghren." She left Anders and Nathaniel to Oghren's care while the two women went over Loghain who went a bit further to scan the area for nearby darkspawn.

"Four of them," he told his Commander when he turned around.

Elisa nodded to him before looking over to Sigrun. "What do you know about this place?"

"Not much other than what my friends from the Legion told me," Sigrun replied. "It used to be important – a center of learning for the smith caste. When the fortress was lost, a lot of what the smiths had learned was lost with it."

The other three Wardens finally joined them not long after, and from the relieved look on Nathaniel's features, Elisa figured that he joined Anders in the corner. As they descended further below, they quickly dispatched a group of darkspawn who seemed to have been attacking another dwarf. Sigrun quickly recognized him as a fellow Legionnaire.

"It's Jukka!" She grabbed Anders' robes and dragged him towards her comrade.

"S-Sigrun…" Jukka rasped weakly as Anders examined him.

The mage grimaced as he turned his head towards the female dwarf. "He's beyond healing."

Sigrun protested but Elisa placed a hand on her shoulder as the latter explained, "He's tainted. Death will claim him soon."

Jukka's hand then reached up to Sigrun's as he hissed in pain. "You must listen! Our suspicions are right… The broodmothers… they're breeding an army! You must… you must stop them! But… beware of the children…" He gasped as his hand began to slip away from hers. "Th-they are abominations…even among the darkspawn!"

Both of Sigrun's hands held his tightly but the other Legionnaire began coughing before collapsing on the ground. She bowed her head low and closed her eyes. "Ancestors guide you…" she mumbled as she slowly let go of his hand before facing the Wardens, her expression hard. "We need to finish what the Legion started and destroy those Broodmothers."

"And what exactly is a Broodmother?" Loghain asked and noticed the dark look on the woman's face. Nathaniel seemed interested to know too as he stood closer to Loghain so that he could hear his Commander's explanation.

"I said earlier that women face far worse fates than men when they are taken by the darkspawn," Elisa explained after taking a deep shaky breath, "those women become Broodmothers." She focused her gaze on Loghain. "Ever wonder why it's rare to find bodies of women in places where darkspawns attack?" Sigrun then looked at the other gathered men. "They take the women alive… always alive."

Loghain's brows furrowed as his stomach began to churn.

"For what purpose?" Nathaniel asked quietly, feeling the dread crawling in his skin.

The poem Hespith had recited began to replay inside Elisa's head, making her unable to suppress the look of revulsion on her face. Her voice nearly cracked as she continued to explain. "They… force them to feed on darkspawn flesh… and violate them… until they turn into giant grotesque monsters spawning vast numbers of darkspawn in a matter of minutes."

Silence deafened the entire area for several minutes, the horror running through their minds. She shared a pointed look at each of them, her expression hard. "That is why I say this to you now. You are not to allow any of these creatures to take Sigrun or I alive. If it looks as though we are to be taken, kill us."

Anders' eyes widened."What?"

Nathaniel protested. "You can't be serious Elisa!?" His eyes met hers as her head whipped around so she could look at him. They were filled with both fear and resolve.

"This is not a request Warden," she spoke in a cold even tone before looking at Anders. "This is an order."

"Your 'order' borders insanity, Commander." Loghain hissed through gritted teeth.

"If neither of you can grant Sigrun or I that mercy, then so be it." She turned to the red-haired dwarf. "Oghren, if it comes to that, I'll leave that task to you." When the dwarf gave an unhesitant nod, she turned around and continued to walk further with Sigrun.

* * *

As the Grey Wardens and Sigrun made their way further to Kal'Hirol, they encountered small packs of darkspawn – ones that were easily dealt with. Elisa only spoke to the three men when giving them orders but otherwise, she walked with Sigrun. Loghain knew this as the Warden-Commander being stubborn. No doubt she would continue to do so until anyone of those who had opposed her will. _How very like Maric_, he thought with a scowl. Still, it was probably a good thing. At least, he knew how to handle such a tantrum.

Elisa halted the group when they passed through an archway. She stared up at the long staircase to the entryway above. Sigrun followed the taller woman's gaze, and said, "the Legion got this far with no trouble. We got complacent, and stormed the main entrance."

"What happened then?" Elisa asked.

Sigrun grimaced. "It was a disaster. The darkspawn turned the thaig's defenses against us."

"Is there any other way?" Elisa began to glance around for other doors they could use. "A servant's entrance of sorts?"

"Old fortresses like this usually have hidden side-entrances," Sigrun explained.

_It doesn't seem like it's going to show itself anytime soon._ The Warden-Commander grimaced before glancing up instinctively only to remember when she saw the high ceiling that they were in the Deep Roads. She wondered how long they had been travelling since they descended from the surface. She spared the others a quick glance and noticed that they looked exhausted.

"Best we prepare ourselves then before entering," she told Sigrun before calling out to the other Wardens, "Make camp!"

End of Chapter 9

_**A/N: I would like to thank rosemallo for proofreading this. It really needed some editing.**_


	10. Chapter 10

Everyone settled in once they had set up a comfortable yet easily defendable camp. Elisa took the first watch since she was the least exhausted among the group. Her gaze was fixed on the flames even as a figure loomed over her from behind before that figure moved to sit beside her. "You should be resting, Second," she muttered curtly.

"So should you, Commander," Loghain responded.

The two remained silent as the only sound that could be heard was the crackling of fire as it burned the firewood. Finally, after several minutes, she spoke. "My order still stands."

He snorted derisively. "Why don't I just simply slit yours and that dwarf's throat now? It'll save us the trouble later on." The sound of metal hitting the ground made him look away from the fire and towards her. She had unsheathed her daggers and threw them aside before her bow and quiver followed.

"Go ahead then." She opened her arms wide as a challenge for him to strike her. "If that means it'll save us from the horrifying alternative."

His eyes narrowed as they glared at her sharply. "You're being a child."

"It is not childish nor is it insane." She snapped then sighed heavily before her gaze returned to watching the flames dance. "At least Oghren would grant me such mercy."

"You asked a drunk to kill you," he stated dryly, "ask him to push you off the cliff and he would have done so immediately." He stared at her as he waited for her response, yet she remained quiet while pondering on what to tell him next.

"I suppose I shouldn't expect you, Anders or Nathaniel to understand," she finally muttered after several minutes, "unlike Oghren, you three have never seen a Broodmother before. No words are adequate to explain how disgusting those creatures are." Her head turned towards him as her eyes met his. "All I can say though, is that I would rather die than become those… _things_ whose only purpose is to give birth to monsters that destroy everything they touch."

Loghain pondered on his Commander's words. Such creatures must truly be horrific for her to resort to ordering for her and the female dwarf's execution if necessity dictates such. Were he in her position, he might ask for death as well. Reluctantly, he gave in. "I… will do as you order, Commander, should the need arise."

Her features softened as she gave a small smile and nodded. "Thank you."

As she went over to where she tossed her weapons, she heard him add, "But such situation will never present itself, I assure you." She turned around and saw the fierce determination in his eyes as he continued, "Neither I nor the others will allow that to happen."

For a moment, she merely stared at him. Then the corners of her lips twitched up. "Is that optimism… from you? My, my, such a rare occasion! Truly, I should mark this on my calendar!"

He scoffed. "Such simple things already amuse you? And you wonder why I call you a child."

The two suddenly halted their banter and became guarded when their senses picked up something moving in the shadows. Warily, their narrowed eyes watched their surroundings as the number of tainted creatures gradually increased. Loghain stood in a defensive stance once he unsheathed his blade and readied his shield.

With her bow drawn out, Elisa's gaze flickered over to one side of the camp when she heard something move. It was Nathaniel who suddenly bolted up from his bedroll, shaking his grogginess away as his eyes darted from one side to another. He was no doubt sensing them as well as he felt that familiar tingle in his blood. Glancing towards the campfire, he saw his Commander's hand beckoning him to come over. He grabbed his bow before cautiously approaching the two senior Wardens.

"Why aren't they attacking yet?" he whispered once he was back-to-back with her, both having arrows ready to shoot at the first creature that steps out of the shadowy corners of the dimly lit area.

"They're still gathering their friends, more or less," she murmured as her gaze fell on Anders and Sigrun's sleeping forms. She could understand the female dwarf not sensing the darkspawn, but, Maker's breath! Anders should be stirring up by now!

"Oghren.." she called out the sleeping redhead in a hushed but urgent tone a few times. Oghren remained asleep though he was beginning to stir so she guessed and hoped that he was sensing them already. Nathaniel called Sigrun in a similar tone and she began to wake up, though still slightly groggy. "Loghain," Elisa called her Second who stepped back a bit until he was closer to where the archers stood. "The moment they come out, kick Oghren where it hurts the most."

Loghain raised a brow but failed to ask her further questions for worm-like creatures emerged from the shadows, approaching their camp with haste. While his Commander's arrows kept the enemies from flanking him, he rushed over to the drunken dwarf, kicking him hard enough to wake him up abruptly with series of colorful words coming out of his mouth. "Wake up dwarf," he said through gritted teeth just as his sword pierced through a creature that nearly jumped on the shorter man, "unless you want to be these creatures' meal." Oghren was really pissed. _Good_, he thought as the dwarf charged to the main group while swinging his battleaxe wildly.

More of the creatures appeared, this time rushing towards the sleeping mage. Sigrun fortunately had fully woken up and dealt with them though with so many enemies grouping around her, she couldn't get the chance to shake Anders' body. The latter only woke up when the dwarf protecting him stumbled back on his body, and the first thing he saw was a hideous creature ready to eat him. With eyes widening like saucers, his arms instinctively stretched forward with a cone of flame erupting through his hands. The creature screeched in agony as it staggered back before three arrows from Nathaniel caused it to drop dead on the ground.

"Not exactly what I want to see first when waking up," Anders commented once the last of the creatures was killed.

"It probably wouldn't have been if you weren't sleeping like a baby," Elisa responded, "sleeping soundly like that; one would think you used a sleep spell on yourself."

The mage's sheepish grin indicated that she hit the mark. "Y-yeah… kinda had to do that to get some proper sleep around here. The constant urge to throw up is making it hard for me to rest."

"Well, since you've slept so well already, then you take the next watch." Elisa ignored Anders' protests as she walked to one of the creatures and crouched down to examine it. Sigrun approached her and stared at it with disgust. "These were probably what Jukka called the Children."

Elisa nodded, her lips curling into a deep frown. "They do match the abominations even amongst the darkspawn' description." Her gaze shifted towards Loghain and Oghren who was still very pissed. The latter was holding up his battleaxe while series of curses flew out of his mouth. The former, though his sword still unsheathed, looked at the dwarf indifferently. If she knew better, she would have thought that her Second had been dying to do that to Oghren. Shaking her head, she stood up and went to the two warriors to break up the argument before she went to an empty bedroll to get some rest.

While Anders, Nathaniel and Loghain began packing up camp, Elisa, Oghren and Sigrun searched the nearby walls for a possible side entrance. It was Oghren who found the switch by accident when he leaned against a statue while trying one of his disturbing innuendos on the other dwarf again. The wall started to lower itself down, revealing a hidden passageway.

The other three Wardens then approached them when they heard the rumbling sound of the stone wall was making. "You know," Anders began, grinning at a memory, "I once started a rumor about secret passages in the tower."

Elisa raised a brow. "Really? What did the templars do?"

He laughed mirthfully. "They had their noses pressed to the walls for months! It was hilarious! And, not to mention, the perfect source of entertainment for everyone in that gloomy tower."

She masked her laugh with coughing but found it difficult to stop herself from grinning. She was about to enter the passage but a hand on her shoulder halted her from moving further. "This is a little too convenient," Loghain said while staring at the passage suspiciously.

"It could be a trap," Nathaniel added.

"Between the front entrance with deadly traps and darkspawn waiting for us, _or_ the side entrance where it has a higher probability to lead us in somewhere safer. Hmm…" She gave a mocking thoughtful look. When both men sighed in exasperation, she merely smiled at their approval before leading the group down the passageway.

As they descended, Elisa suddenly raised a hand to stop the group before they entered the next room. It was easier for her to sense them now; perhaps it had something to do with their prolonged exposure to such darkspawn. Loghain seemed to be in the same condition as he stood next to her while staring at the door.

"There's an Emissary," he muttered.

Elisa added, "and an Alpha… There are others… Drones… four? Five?"

"More than that I think." Both senior Wardens turned their attention to Nathaniel who had his eyes shut tight as he grimaced, most likely trying hold himself from throwing up. "I don't know… They feel scattered… but definitely more than our group."

"Can you tell exactly how many?" Elisa asked as she moved closer. When he shook his head and took a deep breath, she looked at the other members of their group. "Aim at the Emissary first before dealing with the rest. Oghren, keep the Alpha distracted." She took the arrows coated with magebane before nodding to her Second who opened the door before he and Oghren charged in.

Darkspawn were both on the top and lower area of the room. The Wardens quickly dispatched those from above once the Emissary and Alpha were dealt with. Those coming up the stairs from below were frozen by Anders as his hands released a cone of frost before Sigrun shattered them with the pommel of her blade. Loghain was about to head down on one of the stairs while Oghren on the one at the other side, but Sigrun stopped them.

"Don't. Pressure plates everywhere," she warned.

Hurlock archers from below began shooting arrows at them. Loghain had used his shield to block the arrows aimed at both he and Sigrun while the two of them backed away. The more aggressive enemies took out wicked looking daggers and blades before charging towards Oghren. The dwarf, fortunately, seemed to handle them on his own.

Elisa and Nathaniel were now positioned at the balcony and aimed at the archers below; however with so many of the darkspawn shooting at them all at once, it was difficult to get a good shot. From behind the two, Anders began casting a powerful spell. The darkspawn saw this and started aiming at the mage, interrupting his casting a couple of times as he ducked and avoided the arrows that nearly hit him.

"Cover me!" he called out and Loghain was immediately in front the mage and blocked the arrows aimed at them.

Finally, the lower area was engulfed by a huge column of swirling flames just as Anders finished casting his spell. Taking a flask of lyrium from his pack, he drank it in one gulp while the remaining darkspawn were burned to crisp. "Always wanted to try that spell." He grinned to Elisa who approached him as she shouldered her bow.

"You alright?" she asked, searching her pack for bandages.

She stopped when he waved his hand dismissively before wiping the sweat from his forehead with his forearm. "A bit drained but, hey, that's why I have lyrium right?" He winked at her as a reassurance, and she shook her head before patting his shoulder.

"Good job," she muttered with a small smile before continuing to move further in the fortress.

The lower the group the descended, the more corruption oozed into the walls and floor, coating everything with black fungus as a rancid stench filled the air. When they reached a large room, ghostly images of dwarves fighting darkspawn popped to life. Everyone drew their weapons but they quickly relaxed when they realized that those ghosts were harmless.

"I've never seen anything like this before," Sigrun mumbled as Anders waved his hand through one of the ghostly bodies.

"Are these some kind of Fade spirits?" Elisa asked, swatting the mage's hand away once she stood next to him.

"Dunno…" Sigrun shrugged. "They say the memories of the Stone are forever. This is probably what they meant." They watched the ghosts standing on a platform and addressing the dwarves below. From the looks of it, the ghosts were casteless left by the nobility to their terrible fate. The scene replayed endlessly, and after a few times of seeing it, the group moved on.

Eventually, they reached the trade quarters of the thaig. As they reached the bottom of the long stairs, they noticed darkspawn fighting amongst themselves. It was probably a good thing since it made it easier for them to dispatch those monsters; nonetheless, Elisa found it ominous. She walked beside Loghain who seemed bothered by how strange the darkspawn were acting.

"I should be relieved that they decided to kill each other. Makes the Wardens' job a lot easier," she began, catching his attention as he turned his head to look at her, "but this just troubles me more instead."

He grunted in response. _First talking darkspawn now this? Maker, what's next? The Archdemon singing the Chant of Light?_ He snorted at the last thought which made the woman beside him raise a brow. He waved a hand dismissively. "Did the archives at Weisshaupt say any phenomenon similar as this?"

She shook her head. "Nothing even close."

Both the Warden-Commander and her Second stopped when Anders halted and stared up. Elisa and Loghain followed his gaze and saw a giant lyrium bomb dangling above a pit.

"Ooh, lyrium," Anders mumbled, a thought passing in his mind that he couldn't help but share, "the Chantry has a monopoly on all lyrium the dwarves mine. They'd kill anyone who tries to get around it."

"So I heard." Elisa moved beside the mage, her eyes never leaving it. She wondered how much the would cost, or at least the cost of the information of its existence. The money could be beneficial for the arling. "You're thinking of, what, going into business or something?" The question was not meant to be spoken out loud, but she was too focused on her thoughts that it didn't matter to her when she realized what she had voiced out.

Anders chuckled then quipped. "Sure, why not? I always fancied life as a lyrium smuggler." His hand rubbed his chin as he stared back at the lyrium bomb. "Maybe I'll even wear a dashing chapeau!"

With her Second in front leading them to the next room, she and the mage continued to walk up a set of stairs with the latter telling her about his other options if he wasn't a Grey Warden – some were being made tranquil, being a saarebas, or being dead. They suddenly stopped when Loghain ground to a halt.

Elisa raised a brow as she and Anders approached him. "Loghain, what-" She was silenced when she saw larger versions of the Children they fought earlier devoured a Hurlock corpse. Anders quickly covered his mouth, willing himself to hold his urge to vomit as the creatures began to grow spindly little legs as they made clicking noises.

"Andraste's blood…" Nathaniel muttered in mortification, drawing out his bow and aiming an arrow at the creatures just as they took notice of their presence.

The hideous worm-like creatures swarmed the group with several others bursting out of their cocoons. Loghain and Oghren charged forward, the former knocking some back with his shield before stabbing them with his blade, while the latter wildly swung his battle axe in wide arcs. Sigrun dealt with the grubs trying to attack the warriors from behind. Her weapons moved with quick precision as they hit the enemies' weak points. At the back, Elisa and Nathaniel aimed their arrows at those trying to flank Sigrun while Anders consciously casted protection spells before freezing a few that got past the warriors and legionnaire. The three remained within the glyph on the floor which kept the creatures from getting too close.

When the last of the Children fell, Elisa turned to regard the others. Sigrun was wounded by one that bit on her left leg. Sitting on a nearby anvil, she allowed Anders to heal her wounds while she drank a healing flask for good measure. Once the wounds had closed and were bandaged, she nodded a thanks to the mage before she went over to Elisa and Loghain who began examining the open cocoons.

"Looks like we found the nursery," Elisa muttered, her lips curling down in disgust.

Others that had not hatched yet suddenly began to twitch. "Shit," Sigrun cursed as Loghain called the others to make haste. As the cocoons began to open and the monsters within began to struggle out, the group rushed down the stairs that led to another chamber.

"Hurry!" Elisa shouted, nearly shoving everyone inside the next room as worm-like bodies quickly advanced towards their direction.

Taking out two flasks of firebombs from her satchel, she tossed them at the creatures to hold them off before following the group to the next room and slamming the door shut behind them. Even through the thick stony door, the wails of the Children on the other side as they burn could still be heard. Sighing heavily, she slumped down against the door. _That was close._

Anders joined her, panting a bit as he tried to force his heart to calm down. "So," he began, trying to calm everyone's nerves with a more light-hearted topic, "what do Grey Wardens do when there are no darkspawn running amok or chasing them down the Deep Roads?"

Elisa turned her head to the side and stared at the mage with an arched brow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, do we have parties or travel the world?" The mage thought for a moment then added, "maybe take over small kingdoms?"

Elisa laughed lightly. "I don't know about the last part, but I do have a decade-long vacation already planned once we get out of this place." She glanced over to Loghain, grinning as she stretched an arm out towards him. "What about you? Planning to take over Orlais as revenge?"

Loghain snorted as he pulled her up. "The term is 'small kingdom'. And I wouldn't even conquer that nation even if it's handed to me on a silver platter."

Brushing some of the dirt off her bum, Elisa moved the group along a bridge that seemed to go on forever while being surrounded by lyrium veins and streams of running water. The suspense of what they would find at the end was unsettling everyone. Anders began to hum just to keep himself from jumping back. Nathaniel seemed a bit twitchy as well despite the stoic mask he wore. Every once in a while, those two men would glance back at the door where their group just came from as though the Children would burst in at any moment.

As they neared a large area which appeared to be an audience hall, the group halted as they heard someone talking. Elisa's brows furrowed as she and Sigrun carefully eased over behind a wall and observed what was happening. Spouts that poured the water coming from above lined the audience chamber. In the center, an enormous golem that glowed red clutched a darkspawn that looked similar to the one who led the attack at Vigil's Keep. On the floor stood another darkspawn with a staff on his back and looked much similar to the former who he mocked.

"The Architect sends many, but does not come himself! He is a coward! I will kill you, and then he will know he has failed to destroy the Lost! He will know that the Mother will tear him apart!" Raising his hand which held a control rod, he ordered the golem to destroy its captive.

The two women flinched at the sight of the captive darkspawn ripped in half by the golem before the dismembered parts were thrown aside. They hid back behind the wall, panting a bit as their hearts beat rapidly. Yet, it was too late for the darkspawn sensed her though the pull of the Taint.

"Who goes there!?" The Lost hissed as it glared towards the hall where he sensed another presence of tainted blood.

_No point in hiding._ Elisa scowled as she showed herself, her bow draw out and an arrow aimed at the darkspawn. "Be a good little darkspawn and drop the control rod." The others quickly moved behind her, weapons at the ready.

"Do not be making me laugh!" The Lost spat. "What trickery is he planning now?"

'_He' who?_ Elisa's eyes narrowed as the darkspawn continued, "It does not matter. You will be dying now, as all who serve the Architect!" Before further inquiries could be made the golem began stomping towards them. "Disable its joints!" she ordered Sigrun and the two warriors while the group ran away from the stone monstrosity. "Anders! Keep healing and protection spells! Freeze it if you can!" Her eyes flickered towards the Lost that began chanting. The red glow on his hand was similar to when Anders casted that infernal flames earlier. "Andraste's knickers!" She quickly shot an arrow, interrupting the darkspawn before he could finish casting. She then turned to Nathaniel. "Keep aiming at the Lost!"

Anders casted healing and ice spells tortuously, chugging a flask of lyrium every now and then. He managed to freeze the golem for a few seconds as the body heat it was releasing quickly melted the ice. Swinging its arm, it knocked Loghain back against the wall.

"Loghain!" Elisa shouted, causing her to be distracted for a moment, which the Lost took advantage of and sent a hurling rock towards her.

"Get down!" Nathaniel yelled as he lunged himself towards her, pushing her down on the ground just as the rock knocked him back instead towards the waterfall.

Elisa's eyes widened as the Lost attempted to cast a powerful spell again as his hands began to glow red. Her hands began to feel the ground for her bow only to realize that it flew a few feet away from her. _Damnit!_ She took out her daggers and rushed towards the darkspawn as it was close to finish casting the spell. _Move faster! I can make it! Almost there!_ Her mind screamed, and then it was like an internal switch was suddenly flicked up within her. Before anyone could react, she fell on the darkspawn, continuously stabbing its chest with her daggers. Even after the Inferno Golem was deactivated, she continued with her relentless attacks, tearing the dead corpse below her piece by piece.

"Commander! Enough!" Loghain called out as he limped towards her with one arm around his ribs. "It's dead!" In a blink of an eye, the tip of her dagger was pointed close to his neck. He stared at her in shock. Her chest heaved heavily as she gritted her teeth. The others around them couldn't get themselves to move from where they stood as all they could do was stare at their Commander with eyes wide.

Finally, after a few agonizing seconds, she dropped her daggers on the ground and closed her eyes. "My apologies… I thought…" She sighed deeply as she pushed her hair back. "I thought you were another darkspawn."

Loghain stared at her incredulously. _Is she expecting me to buy that bullcrap!? _

However, Elisa didn't give him the opportunity to argue as she quickly picked up her discarded weapons before ordering a still shocked Anders, her expression turning into its usual passiveness. "Check on their wounds and other broken bones. Make sure they are well enough. We might have to fight another battle soon. I'll scout the next room but be back quickly." When, the mage responded with a small nod, she turned around and left the group.

Loghain wanted to follow her but his injuries prevented him. The sharp pain in his ribs made it difficult to move further, so he just sat down and allowed the mage to treat his injuries. He swore to the Maker, however, that he was going to find out what his Commander was hiding.

Once everyone's injuries were tended to, they approached Elisa who had been waiting for them just outside the audience chamber. No one spoke of what transpired earlier between the Warden-Commander and their Second for all were too focused on the tentacles that threatened to knock them off their feet or toss someone against the wall. The slimy extremities they were hacking was ominous enough for the three men to know that something disturbing was waiting at the end of the hall. As they got closer to the central chamber, labored breathing got louder.

"Broodmothers," Sigrun muttered as she made a disgusted face, her entire body shuddering.

There was a pit at the center of the room, and everyone cautiously peered over the edge. Anders rushed to the nearest wall, vomiting what remained in his stomach at the sight of the disgusting monstrosities below. Both Nathaniel and Loghain immediately looked away from the bloated creatures that greedily ate darkspawn flesh as their stomach churned violently. Their Commander was right when she said that no words were enough to describe how horrendous Broodmothers were. They now understood why the she had preferred death. Loghain glanced over to Elisa who examined the chains while Oghren and Sigrun swatted away some tentacles with their weapons.

He approached cautiously, the memory of her dagger close to his neck still fresh in his mind. "How do we deal with these?"

His Commander looked at him, eyes widening briefly before they darted back to the chain. "Chains are keeping that above the pit." Her finger pointed at a massive lyrium container similar to the one they saw at the trade quarters. "Hack this off while I find the other one." She then ordered Oghren to watch Loghain's back while she searched for the other chain with Sigrun watching her back.

"Over here!" The two women turn their attention to Nathaniel positioned near the chain while he defended himself from the tentacles with his daggers. Anders was beside the archer, freezing the chain.

"Perfect!" Elisa exclaimed as she took out her dagger and used its pommel to shatter the only chain holding the lyrium, Everyone moved as far away from the pit as possible just as the bomb dropped on the bloated beasts. The entire area shook from the intensity of the explosion causing the ceiling to slowly crumble.

"This place is going down!" Sigrun shouted a several large rocks from the ceiling dropped nearby.

Elisa frantically searched for an exit and found a passageway sloping up. She could see an opening from the top which emitted a faint light. It was possible that it led to the surface. "This way!" she ordered as the group sprinted up. The sound of crumbling stone and something big and heavy crashing down echoed from below. They hastened their pace as the walls behind them began to crack.

With each step, the light grew brighter. They were close – so close! And as they reached the last step, they were back on the surface.

End of Chapter 10

**A/N: This chapter just went on and on and on. I only realized how long it was once I typed 'end of chapter 10". Anyway, thank you again for rosemallo for the editing. =D**


	11. Chapter 11

"Oh Maker! We made it out ALIVE!"

Elisa watched Anders nearly kiss the ground the moment they reached the surface. She couldn't blame the mage. It was a close call for everyone. Scanning the area, she saw the others slump on the ground from exhaustion. She dropped down as well, closing here eyes as she basked under what little sunlight was left. From the looks of it, it was already late afternoon. She couldn't sense anything now so it's safe to assume that they've killed every darkspawn in Kal'Hirol.

"We should make camp here," she heard the voice of her Second as he sat down beside her. Opening her eyes partially, she met his blue eyes staring down at her.

"Agreed…" She gave a small nod. "I doubt anyone here could manage to stand now, let alone travel to Soldier's Peak." She sat up and looked over to Sigrun who sat near where they had exited, staring at the rocks that crumbled and blocked the path. She approached the female dwarf who turned her head to the side when she heard her footsteps.

"We did it." Sigrun smiled to the Warden-Commander after letting a deep sigh. "If the rest of the Legion were alive, I know they would honor you in some way."

"Unnecessary but very much appreciated." Elisa then sat down beside the shorter woman. "So, what do you plan now that you've finished your mission?"

"Technically, I haven't finished my mission," Sigrun replied, making the other woman raise a brow. "I'm supposed to disappear into the bowels of the Deep Roads. You know, kill darkspawn… remain un-mourned and forgotten. It's kinda part of the vow we took."

"That's rather similar with Wardens." Elisa rubbed her as she mused. "Why don't you join our Order?"

Sigrun raised a brow. "Is that allowed? Being both a Grey Warden and a part of the Legion?"

Elisa shrugged. "Well, you still fight darkspawn and you could die while doing so. I see little difference, really." She watched the dwarf consider her words.

"Okay, I'll do it." Sigrun grinned. "You seem like an alright sort." They shook each others' hands. "Just a question though," she asked once she let go of her new Commander's hand, "does the sun really stay up there in the sky?"

Elisa blinked. Then she remembered Oghren when he saw the sky for the first time. Smiling reassuringly to the other woman, she replied, "Don't worry, it stays up there. And, no, you won't catch fire." With a light pat on the dwarf's shoulder, she stood up and went back to Loghain to inform him about their new recruit.

As the stars shone brightly in the night sky, everyone gathered near the campfire to keep themselves warm. Nathaniel was the one who made the stew for that night. Elisa offered to help but the archer and her Second vehemently refused to let her even near the ingredients.

After dinner, everyone went off to do their own business. Anders went off to find a tree so he could answer the call of nature. Nathaniel and Sigrun left the camp to look for wood for their campfire, while Oghren sat near the fire before he took out some few bottles of alcohol he had stashed in his pack. It was mystery really to everyone how the liquor stayed intact even after all the fighting and running around earlier; but, then again, this is Oghren they're talking about. He took care of his ale like a mother to a newborn babe.

Loghain noticed one of the flasks the drunken dwarf held was silver with a dwarven rune inscribed on the side. "You know," he suddenly spoke as Elisa, who sat beside him, turned her head to look at him, "Maric had a similar flask like that, even the rune."

She followed his gaze and realized that he was talking about the flask Oghren held. It was a gift from Bhelen after the Blight – one of the many tokens of thanks for her support in claiming the throne. She didn't really find any use for it so she gave it Oghren instead – filled with West Hill Brandy, of course. "From King Endrin, I take it?"

He nodded. "He took it with him when he ran off to the Deep Roads with the Orlesian Wardens. He mentioned once that he had them undergo a tradition his mother started during the rebellion."

"Oh? What tradition?" Anders, now sitting beside Elisa, leaned a bit closer and asked curiously.

Too focused on his Commander, Loghain was startled by another audience in their conversation. This caused him to become reluctant to share anything further. Yet his Commander would have none of it. "Oh, come now, Loghain. Don't leave us hanging." She and the mage stared at him like children listening to bedtime stories.

Finally, he gave in and continued, "Maric said that on the eve of a battle, Queen Moira and her generals would pass around some dwarven ale to see which one of them could drink the most."

"Just so you know, that's not really ale," Sigrun pointed out as both she and Nathaniel, who had returned from gathering wood for the fire, stood behind the three sitting Wardens.

"Father once told me that King Maric continued that tradition when he led the rebellion. Is that true?" Nathaniel asked before his shoulders tensed as he side-glanced towards Elisa. Whether the mention of his father brought terrible memories to her, she did not show it and acted as though she did not hear anything.

Loghain let out a deep sigh. Telling stories of the rebellion to this lot just made him feel older. "It is, and yes, I know it isn't ale, unless someone makes it out of fungus."

Elisa raised a brow. "But you still drank it?"

"On the Prince's orders." Loghain attempted to scowl as he remembered the taste but couldn't manage to do it properly at the memory of Maric.

Anders gave a mischievous grin. "What if it's 'on the Commander's orders'?"

Now, that one made Loghain scowl properly. He eyed the woman beside him whose expression remained unreadable. Scoffing, he replied, "I would do no such thing. Such orders are trivial."

"Isn't that insubordination?" Sigrun added as a mischievous grin similar to the mage's formed on her lips.

Loghain's frown deepened. There was no way he was drinking that disgusting liquor! "Even if I consider following such idiotic order, we do not have any in our pack, and I doubt that dwarf over there would share." They glanced towards Oghren who overheard a part of their conversations and moved his pack behind him.

"Just you try taking any of 'em from me!" Oghren growled.

"Oh, come on! Just one bottle, Oghren!" Anders insisted, but the drunk still wouldn't give in.

"Ya' ain't touchin' any!"

The dwarf's possessiveness to his beloved alcohol made Loghain relax a bit though he did not show it to the rest of the party. It did not stop the mage and the legionnaire from trying to persuade the drunken warrior, however.

After a minute or so, their Commander suddenly spoke, "Give them _just one_ bottle of ale, Oghren. I'll give you a crate of Antivan Brandy once we get back to the Keep."

"That's considered bribery, you know," Nathaniel, who had sat next to Loghain, commented as he paused from carving arrows with his belt knife. Their recent battle left his quiver only a handful of ammunitions.

Elisa snorted. "It's called '_just compensation_'." Her gaze flickered towards her Second who opened his mouth to protest before she interrupted him. "Anyway, Loghain's not the only one who'll drink it." The corners of her lips twitched up as what she meant finally dawned on everyone.

Sigrun merely shrugged and grinned. "No problem with me."

"Just make sure you keep yer promise, Commander," Oghren said as he handed Elisa a newly opened flask of dwarven ale.

"_All_ of us would drink that swill?" Anders' lips thinned as he stared at the flask. However, after a few seconds of pondering, curiosity seemed to out-weigh the ale's foul stench for the cat-loving Warden. He shrugged. "Why not? Not like I haven't tasted something worse." _Like darkspawn blood._

"I'll pass," Nathaniel muttered as he stood up so he could move as far away as possible.

"Don't be a spoilsport, Nathaniel," Elisa said as he passed by where she was sitting, "We just cleared out the broodmother;s hive. I think we ought to celebrate a little at least."

"Yes, let us celebrate our victory by drinking something close to poison," Loghain stated dryly.

She waved a hand dismissively. "Oh hush, you. At least you won't suffer alone."

"If you're so eager, Commander, then why don't you drink it first?" Nathaniel challenged, though he did not expect her to follow through.

The entire party, minus Oghren, watched with eyes wide at their Commander as she took a long swig. When she finally moved the flask away from her lips, she began to cough though it was accompanied by a light laugh. "Andraste's flaming knickers!"

Anders, Sigrun and Oghren joined in laughing as the latter lightly slapped his Commander's back. "Not bad, Commander!"

The former added while still chuckling, "I salute your bravery!"

She grinned slightly to the mage and the dwarf once her coughing subsided before turning her attention back to the standing archer with her hand holding up the flask. "Your turn."

Nathaniel grimaced as he remained staring at it, until Oghren and Anders mocked him by making clucking sounds. This led him to glare at the two. "Rather juvenile for two adults, don't you think?"

"Not if it's true." Anders smirked.

The archer's scowl deepened before he took the flask from his Commander's grasp. He regarded it dubiously for a moment then took a swig of the ale. His face suddenly twisted in pure disgust. "Ugh… That's just… How can dwarves drink that!?"

"Easy." Sigrun snatched the flask from Nathaniel. "Like this." She took a long drink, gulping several times while the others watched her in disbelief. Once she lowered the flask, she remained silent with a hand held up to signal the others to wait before she let out a loud unladylike belch. She then gave everyone a wide grin. "Hey, I'm castless. Last thing they teach us is manners."

"Ah, a woman after my own heart!" Oghren laughed as he took the flask from her before taking a long drink which was followed by another loud belch.

Sigrun's face wrinkled as her hand tried to fan the stench away. "Ugh… at least my breath doesn't smell that bad."

"That smell enhances the Oghren-experience." Oghren leaned closer, forcing the female dwarf to pinch her nose. "I'm like a cherry soaked in brandy. Plump... juicy... and full of intoxicating flavor!"

Elisa snatched the flask from the red-haired dwarf, distracting the latter long enough for Sigrun to move away while coughing. "Okay, I think you had enough of that." She handed the flask to Loghain, swinging it a bit in front of his eyes. "Your turn, Second."

Loghain's lips curled down as he watched flask swing from left to right. _I shouldn't have mentioned that story if I knew it'll end up like this._ Sighing deeply, he took it from her. "Fine, let's get this over with." Taking a deep breath, he tipped the flask's opening on his lips before drinking its contents. He shuddered as the liquor made its way down his throat. However, he was not going to give the others the satisfaction of seeing any further reaction despite the churning in his stomach. Using all of his will, he remained calm and stoic, until his stomach settled in. "Here." He shoved the flask back to Elisa. "Satisfied?"

"Pfft, no." Anders pouted. "That was boring."

Loghain rolled his eyes as he muttered sarcastically, "Well, forgive me if I failed to amuse you, Mage. Next time, I'll remember to make gurgling noises for your own entertainment."

"Why don't you entertain us instead Anders?" Elisa handed the flask to the mage.

Anders relented before taking it from his Commander's grasp. Out of caution, he sniffed its contents, making him flinch away from the foul smell. "Uh… I think it's empty…"

"Bah! Sod it! Just chug it down, you sissy-pants!" Oghren growled, close to shoving the ale down on the mage's throat himself.

"Okay! Okay! Sheesh…" Anders stared down at the flask once more. Taking a deep breath, he drank the dwarven ale before he began making retching noises, fighting the urge to vomit as the two dwarves laughed. Loghain and Nathaniel cracked a smile as they watched the mage. It felt like revenge somehow for the latter being the root of the trivial challenge.

Elisa laughed lightly as she rubbed Anders' back. "Alright, enough, enough. We had our fun," she told their group, "Now, get some rest. We'll be leaving early tomorrow." She watched the Wardens return to their bedrolls with little next to no protest; most likely due to the fact that their bodies were already aching for a good night's rest.

Loghain, however, remained seated near the fire, blue eyes watching the flames dance. "I'll take the first watch," he told the Warden-Commander when she approached him.

"No, you rest," Elisa insisted, "You're probably more exhausted than me."

He snorted. "I'm not so exhausted that I would be so delirious to the point of thinking that one of my companions is a darkspawn."

"Ah…" She paused for a moment, quickly picking up that he was referring to what had happened between them in the audience chamber. She thought that a bit of fun and alcohol would divert everyone's mind from what she had shown earlier. It seemed to have worked too, except on Loghain. The man always saw behind her thick layers of façade.

Her eyes darted from one Warden to another and saw that they were all in deep sleep already. She looked back at her Second who merely stared at her, as though her face held the answer. Sighing heavily, she scratched the back of her head. "I suppose you want answers…"

"Is that not obvious?"

She began to pace back and forth, her chin resting between her thumb and forefinger. "Would you believe me if I say I have no idea what happened?"

Loghain crossed his arms. "If you had no idea, you wouldn't be lying about it, would you?"

_Maker, I hate it when he's right._ Elisa's lips were pressed together. A hand then suddenly gripped on her arm, forcing her to stop moving. Her head whipped to the side and met her Second's intense gaze. Her eyes held his for a moment before they shifted to somewhere else. After several minutes of silence, she whispered after a deep sigh. "Everything will be explained once we reach Soldier's Peak."

His brows furrowed. "Why not now?"

She pulled her arm away from his loosening grip. "Because, it's better if I explain it with Avernus." She turned around and went to her bedroll, leaving the older man with more questions than answers.

* * *

"Uh… I'm going to ride… that?"

Elisa paused from placing her back on her horse as her attention turned to Sigrun. The look the latter gave was similar to Oghren when she told him for the first time that they were riding a horse. "It's like riding a Bronto," she explained.

Sigrun still eyed at the horse uneasily before giving the Warden-Commander a small hesitant nod. As she finished packing and readied to help Sigrun up on her horse, she noticed their little dilemma. Nathaniel already had Anders sitting behind him on his horse while there wasn't enough space on Loghain's what with his massive armor and the camping gear occupying the space. Maybe some space enough for Sigrun if their camping gear wasn't placed there. That would be a good idea too, considering Oghren was the last person the Legionnaire would want to ride with. "Loghain, a moment," she called out to her Second.

Loghain, already on his horse, rode it to where she stood. "Yes?"

"Sigrun will ride with you," she said as she began transferring the camping gear from his horse to hers.

This caused the other Warden to raise a brow in confusion until he saw the red-haired dwarf approaching. "There wouldn't be enough space for you two if you put those there," he pointed out but she ignored his comment.

She finished transferring the camping gear to her horse when Nathaniel rode his horse towards them. "We're ready, Commander." She nodded to the archer as she helped Oghren up on her horse before she began walking, her hand on the rein as it guided the horse forward.

This startled both dark-haired humans for instinct dictated them not to let a lady walk while men ride their horses. They quickly got off their mounts, without realizing the other did the same, as they offered simultaneously, "Just use my horse, Commander." Blue eyes glanced towards the other curiously and met grey eyes doing the same.

However, their Commander, without as much as stopping and turning around to look at them, simply raised a hand as it made a dismissive gesture. "Unnecessary."

The two mounted their horses once more, shrugging it off as they considered the other's action meant nothing than being polite. However, the companions riding with them saw something else as Anders grinned knowingly at Sigrun who returned it with a similar expression.

When Nathaniel rode ahead of Loghain, the female dwarf asked the man in front of her curiously. "So, are you… and her…?"

Loghain turned his head to the side with his brow arched. When he saw her point her fingers towards the Warden-Commander, he snorted. "Have you been listening to the mage? I will tell you now, that whatever stories he shares about the Commander and I, they are no doubt the result of lyrium withdrawal."

"Oh, he hasn't shared anything yet." Sigrun replied, taking a mental note to ask Anders some juicy gossip later. "Kinda' notice you two being close and all."

"We fought together during the Blight. I suppose that might have contributed to our relationship as comrade-in-arms," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone, "I respect her capability to lead troops and inspire loyalty amongst her companions. Beyond that, there's nothing else."

Sigrun stared at him, partly unconvinced by his statement. Her eyes then shifted towards Nathaniel who seemed to be talking to their Commander now while riding his horse beside the one she was pulling. From the archer's body language, it looked like he was still trying to convince his Commander to ride his horse instead. "What about _him_?" she asked curiously.

Loghain followed the Legionnaire's gaze. Nathaniel had then got off his mount and joined walking beside Elisa while pulling the rein of his horse. He remained silent for a moment, unconsciously scowling in disapproval at the scene. He tried to convince himself that it was because he still did not fully trust the Howe, that the latter might be trying to get into the Warden-Commander's good graces so as to strike when everyone least expected it. Yes, that must be what his gut is telling him – and his gut feel is rarely wrong. A light tap on his forearm by Sigrun's hand reminded him that he had not answered her question.

He shrugged indifferently. "I know nothing what those two have, only that they knew each other during their childhood years. And even if they are, I care little, so long as that boy does not distract the Warden-Commander from her duties." He sped up his horse, moving past between the two archers and went ahead of them.

Elisa raised a brow, pausing from chatting with Nathaniel as she stared at Loghain for a moment. Nathaniel gave a similar expression when she focused her gaze back to him. Shrugging, she replied, "Probably in a hurry to get to Soldier's Peak." Not like she wasn't either. She quickened her pace, moving ahead of Nathaniel who immediately followed suit.

End of Chapter 11


	12. Chapter 12

The Warden-Commander led her group up the mountains, covering themselves with thick fur cloaks as the temperature gradually dropped. The horses had a more difficult time climbing up the mountains while having someone mounted on top of them, so they decided to go on foot while guiding the horses up. Sigrun shivered as she wrapped the cloak around her tighter before moving closer to Anders. He conjured a ball of fire with one hand, his other hand kept the cloak wrapped around his body. He let out a loud sneeze and sniffed.

"Are we there yet?" he asked.

"We're close," Elisa assured him as she pointed up at the silhouette of the fortress.

Even from that distance, Soldier's Peak looked huge, and as they got closer, the mage couldn't help but stare at it with his mouth gaping. "Woah…" he muttered.

"Same thing the last time I saw it," Oghren grumbled as he walked past Anders.

Nathaniel, while walking beside his Commander, stared up at the old fortress as he removed the hood of his cloak "If you already had a base here, why take my family's land?"

"It was not _taken_, boy. It was _given_ by the Crown." It was Loghain who replied just as he moved on the other side of Elisa. He scowled but kept whatever snide comment he would add to himself. "Months ago, this fortress was not easily accessible. This path we're using right now had just been made by the merchants staying at Soldier's Peak – quite recently. The other route takes a few days longer."

"If we don't get lost in the tunnels, that is," Elisa added, "which happens a lot – almost always actually."

"Only to you it seems, Commander," Loghain stated dryly though his features softened a bit as a smile threatened to form on his lips. His statement earned him an incredulous look from the auburn-haired woman, not believing that he never got lost every time he used that route. As proof, he took out a map from his satchel and showed to her the marks he made while navigating the tunnels.

She stared at the map while rubbing her chin. The slight grin on her face indicated that she was impressed by the older Warden's cartography. Her elbow lightly nudged his forearm as she shook her head. "Show off." Her grin widened a bit as she challenged him. "Let's see you try mapping the Deep Roads." The two had continued to walk ahead with their topic then shifting to the Deep Roads, neither realizing that the archer had slowed his pace.

Nathaniel placed the hood over his head once more as he watched Elisa's full attention on her Second. It felt like a barrier would always form around them whenever they talked. He shouldn't be surprised about it really. They did after all spend a longer time together as comrade-in-arms. It was simply that he was so used to fact that his Commander was the too-young daughter of the late Teryn Cousland who would always search for his company. He wasn't oblivious to her infatuation back then. In fact, Fergus would often tease him about it. And even if he would not openly admit it before, he enjoyed her company as well. He might have even courted her if he hadn't been sent to the Free Marches before she was presented to the nobility. Seeing her flinging her affection now to another man just did not sit well on him.

His last thought made him suddenly pause. His brows knitted together as he stared intently at them. _No, that can't be… could they?_ He then remembered the night he and the mage entered her chambers, catching those two in a… _compromising position_. His anger that time dominated any curiosity, so he never made much thought of it until now. While the former Teryn had only been bandaging her wounds that time, the fact that she showed no signs of embarrassment meant that she had already shown him her bare flesh at least once. Question of when and how it happened popped in his head followed by more questions that just bothered him to no end. It was only when his Commander called their attention that he was pulled out of his own thoughts.

"We're here."

* * *

Everyone settled in the fortress' bed quarters for it had been late in the afternoon when they arrived there. Elisa was grateful for the Dryden's that they cleaned up the place. Shame, though, that Levi hadn't arrived yet from his trip into the Frostback Mountains. Poor weather contributed to his delay, his relatives explained. Good news was that they expect him to arrive tomorrow noon.

During dinner, she invited Levi's family to join them in the dining hall. It lessened the eerie memory she had of the place with a lively group in one room. Without them, it felt like a demon could sneak an attack from behind. She had to remind Oghren though to keep his profanity to the minimum, having children join them and all. The red-haired dwarf begrudgingly agreed, thank the Maker for small favors.

Nathaniel watched his Commander who sat a bit far from him with Loghain on her right and the Dryden's smith, Mikhael, on her left. From the sound of it, she seemed to be trying to convince the smith to ply his trade in Amaranthine. However, her voice lowered, with all the loud chatting around the hall, it was difficult to pick up whatever they were discussing. Loghain had joined in the conversation, he voice lowered like the woman beside him before the two shared a look. That made him scowl, yet he tried to push away whatever ill suspicions he had. This was the kind of thing Anders would be suspecting and he reminded himself not to act like the mage.

"Cheer up. No one likes a grump."

Nathaniel was startled by the sudden comment of Sigrun who he immediately remembered was sitting next to him. The short woman grinned knowingly to him before following his gaze which he quickly shifted back to his plate as he silently ate, his cheeks turned light red from the embarrassment of getting caught.

Thinking quickly, he changed the subject. "For a dead woman, you're remarkably perky."

"I could be less perky if you like." Sigrun made an overdramatic melancholy pose. "The darkness of the Deep Roads is seeped into my soul. The world is dead, my heart is black. Alas... woe… woe!"

Nathaniel shook his head as his lips cracked a faint smile. "Right… let's stick to perky." He resumed eating though his eyes kept flickering back to Elisa every now and then. At one point, he saw her subtly lean closer to her Second and whispered something. The latter's expression remained unreadable and only responded with a small nod. _What are they talking about?_ The unanswered question irritated him, making him scowl deeply once more.

"Don't worry. The two aren't at _it_, from what I heard." The archer mentally cursed at being caught by the dwarf beside him once again. She added with a grin, "Hope that'll help stop you from brooding."

"I'm not brooding." His expression became neutral once again before he excused himself and left the dining hall. Whether his Commander or anyone other than Sigrun noticed his exit, it didn't matter to him. He simply just wanted to get away, and find some quiet place to think.

* * *

Nathaniel's wandering led him to the fortress' training room. It wasn't as large as the one located outside but it was enough for the dark-haired archer to practice with his bow while clearing his thoughts. It worked for a while. His focus was concentrated on the center of the target, and his arrows hit that area each time. Then, he missed just as he felt something tingle in his blood. _She's coming. She's… alone?_ He considered hiding in the shadows until he could no longer sense her. Yet, it would be pointless if she was looking for him. _Did she notice me leave? Did it raise her concern? Or was it just coincidence that she was passing by outside?_

He didn't have to wait further for answers. "Nathaniel." Her voice made him lower his bow before he faced her with the mask of neutrality.

"Commander." He nodded. He noticed her raise a brow and he wondered if she noticed anything.

"You left the dining hall early," she said as she strode towards the nearby weapon rack and took a practice bow. "I hope it's not because of the food. You'd be breaking a lot of hearts if the girls find out."

_It's the scene more like._ "The food's fine," he replied when she stepped behind him to take an arrow from his quiver, "I was just… not hungry."

She grinned slightly. "A nice way to say you didn't like it." She raised the bow and aimed the arrow at the target. "So, what's really bothering you? You've been brooding the entire time during dinner and I doubt it has something to do with the stew unless you have an Orlesian stomach."

He blinked as he stared at her. Was he that obvious? His surprise must have been evident on his face as she added, "Sigrun told me when I asked her why you left."

"I'd rather not talk about it." He didn't add anything else after that nor did she push him to answer.

The room became quiet with the only sound of an arrow hitting its mark, echoing in the training room. Offering his quiver to her, he settled with just watching her shoot arrow after arrow. Some landed close to the center while others were a bit far from the intended target. The silence stretched far enough for it to become awkward, at least for him anyway.

He watched her and tried to find something to start a conversation. "You've improved a little compared to the last time I saw you hold a bow."

She snorted and turned her head to the side. "Just a little?"

"You don't hold it like a sword at least." Grey eyes studied her form while pushing any thoughts of the curves of her body far back in his consciousness. "You posture is still a bit off though."

"My posture's perfectly fine." She positioned herself and in the corner of her eye she saw the archer shake his head.

"No, like this." He walked up behind her as he guided her arm to stretch it further and raise it higher. As leaned closer, his nose picked up her scent – the smell of lavender and something uniquely hers alone – which was doing things he would rather not have the lady in front of him notice. _Focus._ He scolded himself mentally. "Point the bow to the ground," he instructed as he reached for an arrow from the quiver and handed it over to her. "_before_ loading it."

As she placed the arrow against the string and held it in place, he put a hand on hers and pulled it back. "Look at the target," he whispered and, for a second, he felt her frame slightly shiver from his breath brushing against her ear. She gave a small nod before firing. The arrow flew swiftly towards the target, directly hitting the center.

"Did you see that?" She grinned widely – a smile that resembled his memory of the too-young daughter of Teryn Cousland. Perhaps he was wrong to assume that part of her to be dead. Perhaps, it was possible that it only remained dormant within her due to all the unfortunate circumstances that she had to face, and all it needed was someone to wake it up. Perhaps that someone could be…

"Elisa," he spoke her name softly, making her turn her head to the side. She was close, so close that if he would lean his head forward, he could…

"Commander." From the doorway, a familiar voice called out. It broke whatever spell was cast between them as she stepped away from him and strode towards the weapon rack, placing the practice bow back where it was before. Grey eyes focused towards the doorway and met icy blue eyes glaring back at him. His father was right when he said that the man's sharp gaze was intimidating but he wasn't going to allow himself to falter.

"Get some rest, Nathaniel," he heard his Commander state as she patted his shoulder. Her cold passive demeanor had returned and the barrier was brought up again as she and her Second left the training room.

* * *

"I still don't trust him."

Loghain stopped and Elisa followed suit once she was a few steps ahead of him. She turned around to look at him with a raised brow. "I stand here alive and unscathed even when I allowed an opportunity for him to get close enough for a quick knife-stab on my back. And you still don't trust him?" She sighed in exasperation as her thumb and forefinger massaged the bridge of her nose. "We've answered your curiosity, so could we move past your paranoia?"

He scoffed but followed her nonetheless as she resumed walking. Moving beside her, he added, "For now. Know, however, that I will watch him carefully."

"Do as you like." She shrugged as they passed the rampart walkway that led to the Peak's highest tower. Once they stood just outside the most secluded room of the fortress, she took a deep breath. She had promised to explain to him everything but something was tugging within her that said not to. It was fear perhaps – fear that his view of her might change for the worse. Loghain did many terrible things, but she doubted even he could have stooped this low just to protect everything he cared about. "Are you… certain?" Her voice whispered softly.

His response left no uncertainty. "Yes."

Taking another deep breath, she knocked on the door a few times. When a voice of an elderly man said "Come in", she opened the door and led her Second inside the large room. Tomes and all sorts of vials filled the shelves. Parchments were piled up on one desk. At the center of the end of the room was an alchemy table where a wizened mage turned around to face them as they approached.

"Avernus," Elisa greeted with a curt nod.

"Commander," Avernus did the same before his gaze fell on the man beside her. He raised a brow out of curiosity. Loghain scowled at the mage in returned the look with wariness. Magic was something he found difficult to trust, and he wasn't going to start now.

"He's my Second." Elisa's statement made the elderly man to focus back to her. "He has the right to know _this_, in case my… _condition_ worsens."

Loghain's brows furrowed. "What _condition_?" He didn't like where this was going.

She took a deep breath. "During the Blight, I came here with some of our companions to reclaim the fortress. I figured it would be a good base in case the Landsmeet didn't go as planned and the civil war continued. That was when I met Avernus." Her fingers began to fidget out of instinct. "I've mentioned to you before that he was researching on the hidden powers of the Taint within us Wardens." When he nodded, she continued. "What I did not tell you is that he had already created a concoction to unlock them – an increase in strength, speed, stamina…" After removing her gloves, she took her dagger out and slashed a shallow wound on her arm. Blood began to trickle down but even so, the injury began to heal itself. "… Regeneration."

Loghain's eyes widened as the memory of her injured back flashed into his mind. He had thought back then that the Shrieks had not injured her as much as the archer, and her quick recovery without the healer's help was because the salve he applied on her wound was potent.

Avernus stepped beside the Warden-Commander as his bony hands took her arm to examine the regenerating wound. "Impressive. None of the others reached this far to have such effect. If you had allowed me to have more…" In the corner of his eye, he glanced towards the other man who quickly moved his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"I have already stated that further unethical means will not be permitted." She glared at the blood mage as she pulled her arm away. "You have me as a test subject. That's all the sacrifice I will offer." She saw the elderly man's brows crease, but made no further argument as he returned to his alchemy table. Glancing back to her Second whose blue eyes stared at her intently, she took a deep breath as she continued, "It was not perfect, however. There were… side-effects – minimal, manageable quirks, until it progressed into something… dangerous and uncontrollable."

"And what happened in Kal'Hirol," Loghain asked, "that was one of them?"

Elisa nodded as she tried to keep herself from looking away. "Yes. Bloodlust, among other things, triggers such… violence."

"Anger, bitterness, hatred," Avernus suddenly spoke and the two other Wardens focused their attention to him. Turning around, he asked. "Those are _the other things_ you spoke of, correct?" When she nodded, he took a tome from one of the nearby shelves, pacing toward them while he opened the book, searching for a certain page. He paused just a few feet away from her, and stopped flipping through the pages before he stated, "It has accelerated the corruption within you. I made some miscalculation it seems, but some progress nonetheless considering that it did not outright kill you."

"_Miscalculation_!?" Loghain gritted his teeth as he charged towards the blood mage, his hand pulling out his sword from the scabbard. However, his Commander was quick to move between him and the elder Warden, her hand raised up, signaling Loghain to stay his blade. He did so reluctantly though, and glared at the man behind her.

Once ensured that her Second would not attack, Elisa looked over to Avernus and asked, "For how long?"

"Three to five years, if fortunate. If not, a year at most before you start hearing the call of the old gods." The blood mage closed the tome he held and added, "As I said in my letter, I can develop a tonic to delay the effects, perhaps up to ten years at most."

"How about reversing your _miscalculation_ instead mage!?" Loghain growled as he motioned forward but his Commander pressed a hand against his breastplate and glared sharply to silence him.

"What materials do you need?" Elisa asked while still glaring at Loghain.

"I have all in stock, Commander," Avernus replied, "however, I will need your cooperation tonight. The blood sample you sent me isn't enough—"

Loghain moved past his Commander, caring little if ignoring her orders to stay his hand would result to insubordination. He grabbed the mage by the front of his robes and lifted him up from the floor with ease as he gritted his teeth. "You want to bleed her dry!?"

"Loghain, enough." Her tone was icy cold as she grabbed his forearm, clutching the metal a bit too tightly that it made a small dent on the armor. "I _will_ do this and whatever you say will not change my mind. Now, release the mage so he can begin with his preparations."

He did so only because her tight grip on his gauntlet seemed to tell him that her control over her darker side was slowly slipping away. Still, that would not silence his apprehension. "How can you be certain that this would not worsen your condition? Have you ever considered that this time it _could_ kill you!?"

"I'm going to die either way, Loghain!" Pausing, she released her tight grip on his forearm and stepped back as she tried to calm burning anger within her. Seconds after, she spoke in a soft even tone. "Look, right now, what's keeping me from ripping everyone's heads off is that I stay far from the front lines. But, you have to consider that if my condition remains unchecked, in a few months or so, that strategy might not work any longer, and thus, put everyone in danger."

Loghain scowled deeply. _Stubborn woman!_ He hated to admit it but she made a good point. Throwing his hands up in the air, he begrudgingly gave in. "Fine, do what you like, Commander. Die or live, I care not!" He strode toward the door and slammed it behind him.

End of Chapter 12


	13. Chapter 13

Loghain told himself that he wasn't going to care what happens to her, no matter what. Yet, despite his attempts to return to his quarters, he found himself heading back to the fortress' highest tower. The entire night he spent sitting on a bench just outside the blood mage's laboratory and waited. For what? Maker knows. All he knew was that he wasn't getting any sleep in his quarters tonight until his Commander stepped out of the room and regarded him with a snarky remark or two.

His mind wandered as he leaned against wall. _How in the bloody Maker's name did I end up like this?_ It had only been a year ago when he and Elisa were on opposite sides. Fate truly has a twisted sense of humor. He remembered the first time they talked in camp when both decided to take the first watch; the worsening dreams of the Archdemon and darkspawn made it too difficult for either of them to get a good night's rest. She had spoken to him before at Eamon's estate after his Joining but one would not consider a brief order of, "We will leave for Redcliffe tomorrow," followed by his curt nod as an actual conversation.

"_You're a necessary evil, you know that?"_

_Loghain paused from cleaning his sword before he looked over to the auburn-haired woman who continued to restring her bow casually across the campfire. He snorted. "Is that all the insult you can throw at me? Come now Warden, you can do better than that. I could even teach you a few more."_

_She didn't look at him and just went on with restringing her bow. Her response was calm – almost cold – and blunt. "It wasn't an insult; only a statement. But if it did hit a sore spot, I will not apologize for stating the truth."_

_He scoffed as he placed down his sword. "So, you think of me as a monster then; more so since I survived that ritual."_

_It was her turn to set her weapon aside. Sapphire eyes looked at him coolly as she replied, "I don't think you're a monster. I'd be a hypocrite if I thought so."_

That time he thought she was merely offering some poor lie. He never really expected her to be literal about it. Not that he saw her as one now. They did what they thought was for the best interest of Ferelden, even if it would mean they would have to become what people define as _monsters_.

At some point during the night, he fell asleep on the bench with those thoughts in mind. When he woke up hours later, he bolted up as his head immediately turned towards the door. He could still sense his Commander inside and although it was a slight relief, it also bothered him that she hadn't left yet. Standing up, he moved towards the door; however, his pride made him hesitate. Closing his eyes, he placed a hand on the door and tried to sense if she was more than just barely living. The taint within her was strong though docile, which indicated that she was most likely asleep. That gave him some form of comfort at least, though not enough put his mind at ease.

For now, he needed something to distract himself. Exiting the tower, he walked along the ramparts as he headed down to her quarters. She had tasked him with meeting up with Levi during dinner last night both about her proposal for the merchants to ply their trade in Amaranthine, and to trade information as well. He was not a people-person to begin with but whatever news the merchant might have picked up along the road would be vital for the investigation, and thus, he was left with little choice but to do it. After retrieving some documents from her pack, he moved towards the door to exit. However, as he swung the door open, he was greeted by their party's archer.

Nathaniel's eyes widened for a moment at the sight of the former teryn before they narrowed and stared at him suspiciously. "What are you doing here?"

"It does not concern you, boy," was all Loghain retorted with as he moved past the archer and began to walk down the hallway.

Nathaniel hesitated to look inside for fear of the possibility that he might find her naked form on the bed. Nonetheless, he made a quick peek and found it curious that the bed looked untouched. Hurrying over to the older Warden, he asked, "Where is Elisa?"

"The_ Commander_," Loghain began with emphasis on Elisa's title to remind Howe's boy of his place, "is currently occupied with a meeting. She is not to be disturbed."

_This early?_ Nathaniel raised a brow. "Where? For how long?"

Loghain sighed in exasperation. He paused and turned to the archer who halted as well. "For the entire day. Now if you are done with questioning your superior, I suggest you find someone else to pester."

Nathaniel scowled as his narrowed eyes watched the former teryn return to his quarters. That voice in the back of his mind told him that he or Elisa or even both were hiding something. _Fine, then I'll just look for her myself. _And with that, he made his way down the lower levels of Soldier's Peak.

* * *

"The Commander?" Sigrun paused from reading the Nevarran romance she took from one of the bookshelves and looked up at the dark-haired archer. "Nope, haven't seen her." She glanced towards the blonde mage who stopped browsing the bookshelves and looked over to them.

Anders shrugged. "Haven't seen her either. Maybe she's still asleep."

Nathaniel sighed deeply. When he passed by the fortress' library, he had hoped the taint he had sensed belonged to the Warden-Commander. "I went to her room. Loghain was the only one there." The two other Wardens shared knowing glances and amused grins – an expression Nathaniel knew as the two already having a story written inside their heads. "And no, it's not what you think." Despite the possibility of what they were thinking to be true, he refused to believe it. "I saw her bed. It looked like she didn't even used it last night."

"Well, what did Loghain say?" Anders asked.

"He said she's in a meeting," Nathaniel replied, making the two other Wardens wave him off as they return to what they had previously been doing. He couldn't help but scowl at their indifference. "You both are horrible."

"Relax," Sigrun said as she flipped another page, "she'll show up when she's done."

"Oh, this looks interesting." Anders grinned at a book he found, completely ignoring whatever distress the archer was having. As the dwarf went over to him to look at the book the mage held, he continued, "It says here there are rumored secret passages around Soldier's Peak."

Shaking his head, Nathaniel left the library when the two looked far disinterested about their Commander's whereabouts. It had been past noon when he gave up searching. Wherever Elisa went, no doubt she didn't want anyone, with her Second as an exception, to find out. As he passed by the hallway, he noticed the blonde mage pressed against the wall with his brows knitted together. "What in Andraste's name are you doing mage?"

Anders held up a hand to silence the archer before he tapped around the wall. Nothing happened, and after another minute, he sighed heavily and moved away. "Guess it's not here."

Nathaniel raised a brow. "What is _not here_?"

Anders turned to him and replied, "Secret passages." When the archer gave him an incredulous look, he added, "What? I'm bored. The saucy novels in the library are already centuries old. It feels like reading… _old people_ at it." His entire body shuddered to emphasize the mortifying mental image – an image that also made Nathaniel cringe.

As the two Wardens made their way along the ramparts, the mage paused and stared at the highest tower of the fortress. The ramparts leading to it were across where they stood at the moment. It gave a faint tingling sensation – not like when detecting darkspawn but more like some sort of magical energy. That piqued his curiosity.

"Hey." His hand tapped the archer's shoulder before pointing up at the tower. "Do you know what's up there?"

Nathaniel followed where the mage was pointing and frowned. With the tower so far off from the main hall, he didn't realize its existence until now. "Haven't been there yet," he muttered as he considered it was Elisa up there. From where they stood, the tower looked abandoned. At most, the merchants might have used it as a storage room.

"The Veil's probably thin there," Anders muttered before he turned to leave.

"The Veil?" Nathaniel's brow arched up. He wasn't quite all familiar with everything related to magic; only the ones taught by the Chantry which usually just goes around Tevinter mages, Black City, and demons.

"The Veil is what separates this world from the Fade," Anders explained. "It's usually thin or tears open when a place had experienced either extensive death or use of magic." He glanced back at the tower. "This fortress is centuries old, and a lot of people might have died here; though I don't get it why it's only concentrated on that area."

Nathaniel remained still for a moment while staring up at the tower. Elisa could be there, though, he couldn't think of a reason as to why other than that was the only place he hadn't searched yet. _If she's not there, then I'll stop looking_, he told himself before he began to walk back to where they entered.

"The main hall's this way," Anders called out as he pointed at the other door. When the archer didn't respond, he jogged towards him.

"I don't plan on going down just yet," Nathaniel replied when he heard the mage's footsteps behind him.

As they crossed the other rampart, Anders quickly realized where they were heading. "Did I forget to mention that demons could come out if the Veil is torn?" He grabbed the archer's arm when he ignored his statement. "I'm no promoter of the Chantry's teachings, but didn't they teach you non-mages that demons are evil?"

"I just need to see something." Nathaniel pulled his arm away. "If you don't want to come, I won't force you." Not waiting for any response from the blonde, he made his way inside the tower.

For a moment, Anders debated whether to return to the main hall and leave the archer to be skewered by demons, if there were any, or go with him and end up getting skewered by demons as well. "Maker, I hate my conscience," he muttered to himself before following the brooding man.

So far, as they climbed up the tower's winding stairs, the two Wardens had not encountered any form of demons yet. Anders, though, was feeling a bit edgy as the magical energy he sensed grew stronger with each step. Why couldn't he have the Commander as company instead? He could at least have an excuse to cling onto her. He sighed. _Life is terribly cruel to me sometimes…_

Once they reached the top, a door barred them from moving to the next room. Nathaniel picked the lock but despite that, the door refused to open. "It's magically sealed," he heard the mage state as the latter placed a hand on the door. "A very powerful ward, and probably a sign that we should just head down., like, right now."

The archer considered returning to the main hall, but there was that faint tingling sensation in his blood he knew too well as either a darkspawn or another Warden nearby. "No," he muttered as he stared at the sealed door, "Anders, can you remove whatever is keeping the door shut?"

"I might." Anders nodded was he looked at Nathaniel warily. "But it'll take a lot of my mana, and Maker knows what's inside that room. Magically sealed door also means 'do not enter' you know, and they usually – which is always – have a good reason for it."

Nathaniel ignored the mage's rant as he ordered, "Just do it!"

"Are you crazy!?" Anders brows knitted together. "No!" Grey eyes narrowed as they glared at him. It was as intimidating as Loghain's, and he swore that if he didn't know the two, he might have thought that they were related in some way. Finally, he agreed. "Fine, but if this releases a pack of demons, I'm telling the Commander that this is your fault." He had the archer stand back before his hand began to wave up in the air while he recited a chant. With his hand glowing bright green, he stretched his arms towards the door and dispelled the magical seal.

Nathaniel quickly caught the mage who stumbled back from exhaustion. He led him to the bench nearby before glancing towards the door. Carefully, he approached it, but, as he was about to touch the knob, the door swung opened with the Commander in front of him. Her skin was pale and her eyes had dark circles around them. Only in a white tunic that looked too loose to be hers and leather trousers, she had to grab onto the door just keep herself steady.

"Nathaniel?" Elisa blinked for a moment as she stared at him before her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?" Closing the door behind her, she glanced over to the mage who looked as weary as her. Piecing everything together, she added, "It is very rude to open sealed doors without expressed permission, you know."

Anders pointed a finger at the archer accusingly. "He made me do it."

Sapphire eyes glanced back to Nathaniel who glared at the mage before shifting his gaze back to his Commander. "Breakfast had been ready for over an hour, yet you, who had always been an early bird, didn't show up in the dining hall. I went to your room but only found Loghain inside and your bed looked untouched. Tell me, what else was I supposed to think of that?"

Elisa remained silent as she mentally cursed herself. She should have considered the possibility of one of the Wardens to come to her room. She could have told Loghain to cover up for her. Then again, with how things ended up between them last night, that was the last thing on his list, no doubt. Hopefully, the other matters she assigned were taken care of. "I was feeling unwell last night."

Nathaniel crossed his arms. "So you decided to go to an abandoned tower rather than a healer?

"It's not that simple. This case is… different" Elisa sighed while her free hand massaged the bridge of his nose. "Could you please get Loghain and Sigrun? I'll explain everything thereafter."

"Oh, and can you bring a flask or two of lyrium?" Anders added, earning him a brief but sharp glare from the archer. "Hey, I did _you_ a favor earlier, didn't I?"

"Fine." Nathaniel grumbled before he made his way down the stairs.

Once the archer's footsteps could no longer be heard, Elisa leaned against the wall for support as she made her way to the mage who remained seated on the bench. "How did you two end up here?"

"The tower was giving me bad vibes which usually turns on when the Veil is thin. Howe wanted to come though despite my warning. I couldn't leave him to be skewered by demons if there were any." Anders shrugged, appearing nonchalant in front of his Commander.

"Even dispelling the door's seal?" Elisa raised a brow as she eyed him dubiously.

"Especially that," Anders replied with a finger pointing for emphasis. "He even gave me the same glare as Loghain does." He tried to mimic the expression but failed miserably. It made his Commander laugh lightly at least. He chuckled a bit before he added, "Are you sure they're not related? They're so alike, even the brooding, that I wonder sometimes if they're father and son."

"Alike? Those two?" Elisa snorted.

"Sigrun thought so too. She asked me that a while ago," Anders argued, "and so does Oghren – well, maybe we shouldn't consider his opinion since he said that after five bottles of wine."

Tapping her chin with a forefinger, Elisa mused. "Nathaniel and Loghain are quite opposite in my opinion..." She paused as she thought of the most appropriate representation. "Like… a cat and mabari."

Anders couldn't help but laugh loudly. "Oh, I see the resemblance, Commander! Though, I think Ser Pounce-a-lot would be offended for the comparison of his kind to Howe."

Footsteps echoed as their owners made their way up the tower. Elisa and Anders stopped laughing for a moment when the first two figures of humans emerged from the winding stairs. There was a definite silent tension between them, though as to why, neither Anders nor Elisa knew. Still, the similar expression on their faces made the mage cover his mouth in a poor attempt to hide his laughter while the corners their Commander's lips twitched up. Sigrun was not far behind, looking curious as to why she was called here.

Loghain raised a brow but brushed off whatever private joke those two were having. His gaze just focused on his Commander. The fact that she was alive and breathing had put him at ease, though he would not admit it openly. "I see that you are not dead," he muttered dryly, icy blue eyes staring blankly at her.

To others, his statement might appear indifferent, but Elisa knew better. "Good day to you too, Loghain." She smiled weakly as she stretched out an arm to him. He took it and pulled her up from the chair. Leaning against his side, she steadied herself before leading them inside the next room. Nathaniel eyed the two with a deep scowl but remained silent as he handed the mage his flasks of lyrium before following behind the two senior Wardens.

Inside, Avernus busied himself on his alchemy table, taking a few notes on his parchment before returning to the vial on top of the table. Anders watched warily. There was something definitely creepy about the elderly man. It didn't help either that the cot where Elisa sat down had blood stains on it.

When everyone had settled in, Elisa began with a deep sigh. "I had hoped not to bring up this matter to all of you considering that you have to focus on your duties as Wardens, but chances are my condition might worsen while we travel."

Nathaniel brows furrowed. "What sort of condition?" He watched her gaze shift towards Loghain for a moment and wondered how long her Second knew about this. Was it during the Blight?

"The kind of condition a Grey Warden will only experience after thirty years," Elisa replied vaguely.

"Wait, why so soon?" Anders asked.

Everyone watched their Commander as her features became grim. She was silent for a moment, closing her eyes to contemplate. "It is perhaps because I took my Joining during the Blight. According to the tomes at Weisshaupt, the frequency of a Warden's interaction with darkspawn could hasten the taint in their blood. And as such, Grey Wardens during the Blight have shorter lifespans."

"No need to fret further about such trivialities," Avernus muttered after he corked some vials and motioned to where they conversed with a vial and parchments held by his hand. "I will not allow the Commander to be wasted by such illness so easily."

Elisa knew his statement held more selfish motives than for the sake of her well being. She was his roaming guinea pig after all, and losing her would mean his research has failed which would be a painful jab to his pride. "Thank you, Avernus." She nodded to him as she took the vials and parchments before handing the latter to the archer. "This is a recipe for a tonic that will delay the corruption from spreading. The merchants have supplies of these ingredients. Order enough for our trip back to Vigil's Keep on the morrow."

Nathaniel wanted to ask more, but his Warden-Commander had already rested her back on the cot while her hand waved. "You are all dismissed except you, Second." When he turned to leave, she added, "Also, Nathaniel, after purchasing the ingredients, please do teach Anders and Sigrun how to ride a horse." He scowled at her rather cold demeanor, but nodded nonetheless before leaving the tower with the mage and the dwarf.

When the room had only Avernus, Elisa and Loghain inside, the latter snorted as he crossed his arms. "Quite a lie, Commander – enough bullshit to fertilize all the farms of Thedas and then some."

"I didn't lie, Loghain," she replied, half-lidded up glancing up at his standing form which loomed over hers. "I just didn't tell them everything. It is possible that my interaction with the darkspawn had hastened the taint within me, but it wouldn't be this quick to spread."

He crossed his arms. "And how can I be certain that what you told me isn't a lie as well?"

She laughed derisively. "What good would that do me? Lie or not, I'll die either way." She paused and grinned. "Besides, should I die, you'd be next in line as Warden-Commander; that is if the First Warden does not ship you to Orlais. And I doubt any of the nobles, plus Alistair, would protest to that. The very least I could do is give you a warning or try to keep myself alive for your sake."

He rolled his eyes. "How thoughtful of you, Commander." Grabbing a nearby chair, he sat down and stirred the subject to something more important. "In any case, I have spoken to Levi just before Howe came."

The news made Elisa immediately sit up as her expression became serious. "And? What did he say?"

"About plying their trade? He is considering, especially when Amarathine often exports goods to the Free Marches," Loghain replied, "about recent purchases of weapons and armor…" The scowl she saw meant that there was either no information about it or worse than what they thought. After a few seconds of gathering all the information Levi gave, he continued, "Weapons and armor are continuously bought from the dwarves with their stalls stationed in the Frostback Mountain. They were not sold in large quantities that anyone would immediately take notice; however, there wasn't a single day where no one bought at least a crate or two."

"Were they the same buyers each time?" she asked as her brows furrowed.

He shook his head. "No, however, Levi observed that the men buying those crates were either bearing heraldry of a bear or a wyvern."

Her eyes widened. "The standards of Amaranthine and Gwaren!?" She would not be surprised if the merchant had seen the Amaranthine heraldry but for Gwaren to be included as well… No wonder her Second wasn't happy the least. "Who is the current Teryn of Gwaren?"

"No one at the moment," Loghain replied as his scowl deepened.

_And, here's another dead end._ Elisa mentally cursed. "Surely, there's someone pulling the strings? An influential noble in your former terynir, perhaps?"

He snorted. "Those fools would not make a move unless someone had paid them a great deal of coin."

Rubbing her chin, she pondered who could have that much coin. _These are more matters I have to discuss with Varel._ She sighed heavily. _Maker, I hope he made much more progress in this investigation._ "We shall speak more of this once were back at the Vigil," she told her Second before resting back down on the cot. "Avernus needs to run a few more experiments, so I shall see you tomorrow morning."

Loghain hesitated to leave but did so nonetheless after giving his Commander a quick nod.

End of Chapter 13


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